Harry Potter and the Secrets of the Mind
by twins-rule
Summary: A post OoTP PG-13 story with HPGW,RWHG ships set in Harry's 6th year. A voyage of discovery for Harry as he learns to cope with a life without Sirius and grows into the wizard that will save his world.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer:   
Harry Potter, the characters and scenes that are depicted in this story are the sole and legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. There is no copyright infringement intended. _

Absolutely no profit is being made off this story and it is intended for entertainment purposes only.

**Harry Potter and the Secrets of the Mind**

_Prologue _

_Behind the Veil_

Deep within the bowels of the Ministry of Magic resides the Department of Mysteries. The people who work in this area are called Unspeakables, since they cannot reveal what work is performed there. While very little is publicly known about the inner workings of this mysterious department or the mysterious people who work inside it, some things are known to a greater or lesser degree.

One of these things resides in a forgotten chamber in the Department of Mysteries. It was not always the case that this room would be neglected, since at one time impressive magic was performed there. In this chamber resides an artifact that was created by Merlin and only he knew the secret of its construction and operation. When the Ministry of Magic was founded, the object was moved to its present location and studied. Later another would come and study it. It would be he who finally unlocked the secrets of its full potential.

Many wonderful things were done by the artifact and this young wizard. Eventually great stone benches were added so other wizards could see the work and appreciate the power of it. Alas, eventually all good things must end, and the wizard soon devoted his energy and his life to another pursuit with his closest three friends. However, that story resides outside the bounds of this work.

As time passed, no other witch or wizard could call forth the power of the artifact and the knowledge of it was lost. Eventually even its purpose was forgotten. No one even knew how to call forth its magic. As the years rolled by like the never-ending waves of the ocean, the magical community forgot this lost secret until only legends remained, of which most contained very little truth. There was one legend which was whispered between the people who work in the Department of Mysteries. This legend spoke of the last wizard. It was said that he had imbued the artifact with the power to recognize and respond to his heirs. Most of the people who worked there scoffed at the rumors, but in the dark corners of the Department of Mysteries, quiet conversations kept the legend alive, even as the object of the legends languished in the neglected chamber.

So, quietly burdened by the layers of dust from so many years of neglect, the artifact laid hidden in its room of stone benches. The veil from which powerful work had been done deteriorated and became old and tattered. However, the magic of the artifact remained. All it needed for a rebirth was but a spark of power and the knowledge to make it work.

Unbeknownst to the small group of people who found themselves in the Department of Mysteries on that May night, they were about to see the rebirth. As they fought amongst the stone benches and hurled curse and hex to and fro, the excess magical energy being released was quietly being absorbed. Deep within its stone structure, the artifact could feel the magical aura of one who could use it. With this knowledge, it began to collect the excess magical energy, gradually building the power within it until it hummed in readiness. All that was required now was the knowledge to make it work.

This artifact was a sentient device, although it was not originally created that way. It reflected on its last master and saw that it was his bloodline in the room causing it to reawaken, as the legends foretold. Hoping, in its limited way, the artifact saw a chance to end its long dormant state and become useful again. It was confused when the bloodline left with out utilizing its magic, but it was happy to see that the new master would return shortly later. After its chance meeting with the bloodline, the artifact prepared itself to be utilized. While it waited for the new master's return, it reflected on the last master. He had been a powerful wizard who specialized in the basest form of magical energies. He could sense and see magical auras and had remarkable control over his own mind and magical energy. He was able to push his mind out and learned the secret to creating sentient devices. In truth, the artifact knew that its "mind" was created by the master and imprinted onto its original power. It was grateful, however, since it used its "mind" to greatly expand its ability to delve into the void it was created to explore.

The artifact was surprised when someone entered its arch and passed through its veil. It was ready, but without a controlling direction from the master, the artifact could only do what it was made to do and pass the person on into the void. The master quickly left the room after this event, and soon the rest of the witches and wizards left as well. Again the artifact was forgotten, but the person who was now lost in the void was not.


	2. Chapter 1: Returning to the Prison

_Disclaimer:   
The characters and situations of Harry Potter depicted in this story are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended._

_No profit is being made off this story. It is for entertainment purposes only._

**Harry Potter and the Secrets of the Mind**

_Chapter 1_

_Returning to the Prison_

The tease of the false dawn had already come and gone. The darkness and silence of the night was at its fullest. No one was awake on Privet Drive, save the lone occupant of the smallest bedroom at Number 4. Harry gazed out his window at the darkness which so accurately reflected his mood. He had been home for only a couple of days, yet in his isolation he had only managed a handful of hours of sleep total. Most of it was during his first night back. A few hours of relief from the nightmares was all that he was allowed. There would have been a time when he would have welcomed sleep as a relief from the feelings he had while awake. Unfortunately, sleep was no longer a refuge as his screams of terror had made so crystal clear.

Harry reflected on this part of the night, for he thought it was one of the most interesting parts of the day. When Harry was younger he would use this time in the evening to revel in a sort of freedom from his life. He would enjoy the silence and peaceful freedom of the Dursleys yelling, snide comments, and enjoyment they had when making his life miserable. There was a freedom here at night. A freedom from his relatives and the painful noise they inflicted on his life.

Things were so peaceful and quiet at this moment in a new day. The air held such promise for the time to come. Harry used to dream that it would be this new day to come. Today would be the day when his life would change. He used to dream that, somewhere out there some missing relative would swoop out of the sky and whisk Harry away from his miserable existence.

_Well, _Harry mused_, they always say you should be careful what you wish for_. For young Harry did find a "lost" relative. After years of waiting and dreaming, he had found his Godfather. Granted his Godfather did not swoop from the sky, it was more of a shove in a dark room, but Harry had found his "lost" relative. He was a man who was part older brother and part family member who cared for Harry. Finally there was someone who cared for him as a person.

Lately, this time of the night exemplified how Harry viewed himself. This part of the night was always the coldest part of the day, for the sun had set so long ago. It was also the darkest part of the day, for it seemed as though it would never be light again. Harry knew this was a good description for his life currently. He truly believed that he would never be happy again. Harry had lost his Godfather. That magical lost relative he had always dreamed of was gone. Now he lived, yet again, with his despised Aunt and Uncle. Harry closed his eyes and allowed his aching heart to dream once again. It was a dream that someone would come and save him, to make him a part of a family. Harry just wanted to belong, to be a part of something more. He wanted to be loved. _But,_ Harry thought, _who could ever love me…._

When he opened his tear filled eyes he noticed an owl swooping towards his window. As the bird closed in, Harry noticed it was Hedwig. He had sent her to Ron earlier with a short note enquiring about him and his family. Hedwig swung into the open window and settled herself on Harry's bed. She gave him a soft hoot, and held out her leg. Harry removed the single letter, and gave his dear friend a soft rub on the head. "Thanks girl."

As Harry settled himself at his desk he could hear his Uncle's alarm go off. Soon the day would begin in earnest. Petunia would spy on her neighbors, Dudley would cause destruction and beatings amongst those least able to defend themselves, and his lovely Uncle will be off in his company car to live the Muggle rat race. With these dark thoughts Harry flipped on his desk lamp and settled down to read. Instead of his friend Ron's messy penmanship, he saw a gentle cursive and decidedly feminine script. Curious, since Harry did not recognize the handwriting, he opened the letter.

_Hi Harry,_

_Since I heard from Ron you had inquired to my health, I figured you might as well hear from the source. Confused about who this is yet? Let me see. It is the only female Weasley who has not had seven kids. Well, to be honest, I did not really hear from Ron, actually I stole into his room and pinched his letters for some afternoon reading. You should hear some of the things Hermione has to say! Better yet, you should read some of his scrap parchment of letters he started and never finished to his bushy haired friend. (Evil laugh) I think my dearest brother is going to be in for an interesting year. Oh yeah, before I forget, I am doing well, the ankle seems to be back to normal, which is sort of disappointing actually, since Mum has decided I am well enough to do chores. Yes, yes I know, I am desperately seeking some pity, but you know how Mum can be. In fact, I think I hear Ron stomping back towards the house, so I best sneak back into his room and return his mail. Then I can pop down to the kitchen and send this off with Hedwig. I might have said this before Harry, but I just love your owl, perhaps I can pinch her sometime…what do you think? (The evil youngest Weasley is threatening to be unleashed) So tough guy, tell me how are you? I know you are not the most eloquent writer (since I have been reading your mail to Ron for years), but why don't you give it a try and tell me what's going on? I promise to not laugh…well laugh too hard that is…at your sure to be feeble attempt at writing a letter. But know that I am breathlessly awaiting this attempt. Give it your best and send it over._

_Ginny_

It took Harry several minutes to realize that he was smiling. A smile felt so foreign on his face after last year, that he almost forgot what it was like. He had to hand it to Ginny; she knew how to have fun. In that sense she definitely seemed to take after the twins. Luckily, she was not as destructive as Fred and George.

Harry set the letter aside on his desk, thankful that she did not comment on his first night back at Privet Drive. Harry shuddered at the memory.

**Harry had awakened screaming and dripping wet. His screams had unfortunately also woken his Uncle, who had proceeded to stomp down the hall and into the smallest bedroom. Once there, Vernon grabbed his incoherent nephew, or "freak" as he would say, and screamed at Harry in a voice louder then thunder. Harry was not sure which was worse; being shaken from a horrible nightmare, to his Uncle screaming in his face, or what happened next. Bill Weasley, who was on watch for the Order that night, had heard his Uncle Vernon yelling at him. When the oldest Weasley brother heard Vernon laying into Harry, he promptly let himself in, hauled Vernon off and told him in no uncertain terms to never touch Harry again, or else. Since Bill had his wand in hand Vernon took the hint, albeit reluctantly, and departed the room. Bill tried to help Harry out that night by talking about this and that, but Harry knew he would hear about this encounter soon from his Uncle. He was not disappointed.**

**The Durlsey's had not been pleased about the meeting at King's Cross at King's Cross, the midnight encounter with Harry's nightmare or with Bill his first night back. When Harry first returned to Privet Drive he was treated as if he was wearing his Invisibility cloak constantly. Harry was used to being ignored and treated like he was invisible. He could have handled that, but unfortunately, after that midnight encounter he had suddenly and terrifying become all too visible. The day after the incident his uncle had screamed until he was purple and Harry thought he would pass out. Harry was able to diffuse the tense situation by asking the Order via owl that day to please stay off the property and never enter the house uninvited again. After observing Harry write and then send the parchment, Vernon proceeded to heap a mound of chores on Harry. This actually suited him just fine. At least when he was busy, his mind could not focus on the massive burden that had settled on his shoulders.**

With a shake of his head Harry dragged himself from that particular memory. It had been several days ago, but he had no desire to relive that day again. Instead, he stood and stretched his aching body. He was exhausted. He knew that. All he really had to do was glance in a mirror to see that. He simply did not need to see the gray pallor of his skin, the charcoal black circles beneath his eyes, or the sad listlessness of his hair.

After careful consideration that first night, Harry had realized his only hope was to get his body so physically worn out that his brain would shut down and he could manage some sleep. On the second day back he decided to construct a plan to cut back on his food intake and find an activity that would tire him physically. The food was not an issue since he managed to get even smaller portions than normal, so he was seriously under nourishing himself. Knowing that he also needed to tire himself out he tried to stay awake at night, which was easy because of the alternative. Secondly, to wear his body out, he needed a physical activity. Lately he would gladly accept the meanest, dirtiest chores his Uncle could devise. When he was not involved in this work Harry struggled to find things to occupy himself. He desperately needed something to distract himself from his thoughts. He would walk to the park, then around it. No matter his activity and his exhaustion, he simply could not get his mind off of what happened back in May.

As Harry painfully walked around his room to warm up his aching muscles, he pointedly ignored his Uncle's alarm sounding through its second snooze cycle. He recalled those first several days back with a grimace. Through the long hours of punishing his body and doing a wonderful job of brooding, Harry, unbelievably, was finally able to work his way through some of the lingering problems he had been facing.

To begin with, he was able to finally realize he was not prepared last summer to deal with awesome events that had transpired before he was shipped back to this vile prison. He had just witnessed a death, Cedric's, that he felt he was at least somewhat responsible for and he watched Voldemort return to power making his mother and father's sacrifice for naught.

Because Harry was not prepared to deal with his pain and confusion at the beginning of last summer, he had found himself turning to anger. It was not a healthy reaction, but when Harry was left off in his prison to rot, cut off from his friends and his world, he turned to the only emotion that would get him through. A great deal of the anger he carried through out last year, he had come to understand, was directed at Professor Dumbledore.

It was Dumbledore's pronouncement which sentenced Harry every summer to his childhood prison. It was Dumbledore's decisions that kept Harry in the dark all last year. It was Dumbledore's command which subjected Harry to this nest of vipers again this summer. In these dark thoughts Harry found himself, at times, dangerously close to hating his Headmaster. And then on the rare occasion when Harry briefly allowed himself to think about the prophecy, yet another thing Dumbledore hid from Harry, it only reinforced his negative thoughts to a man he used to greatly respect. _Yeah,_ Harry mused_, let's watch me try and call Fawkes to the Chamber of Secrets now._

With the beeping sounding for a third time in his Uncle's room, Harry started to look for clothes to wear that day. While he looked for some clean jeans, He continued on his train of thought. He reflected how, in some respects at least, he had started to embrace his situation. He decided that if he was to be imprisoned here, he might as well get some use out of it. After his walks in the park in the evening, Harry returned to Number Four and started to work on a logbook.

Harry was still not entirely prepared to deal with the Prophecy or his guilt, but he knew that he needed to prepare himself better. Into his logbook he wrote every spell he had learned throughout his first five years at Hogwarts. He also took the time to pull out his school books and review. If he had to take down the greatest evil wizard ever, he needed to learn. Harry knew that as hard as this burden was to bear, he wished he had been given the opportunity to get started earlier. A nice goal to work towards would have done wonders in distracting Harry from the trials of the last year. It was this thought that had lead Harry to write a letter to his former Professor, a request for Remus to bring Harry some books on Occulemency and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Although Harry had yet to hear from Remus, he hoped something would come soon.

Down the hall Harry heard the snooze button on his uncle's alarm clock go off for the fourth and final time. The cutoff of the alarm was soon followed by the banging and grunting of his Uncle getting ready for work. Yes, another day at Privet Drive was under way. With a sandy eyed glance at his chores, Harry was at least relieved to see that he had work in the garden. Working outside was good. It was the type of work where the body was occupied and his tired mind could shut off. Harry was sure he would be able to get some sleep tonight, and hopefully a tired mind meant no dreams.

XXXXX

Later that day Harry's back ached and his skin felt hot and itchy. As he stretched his back he was able to look back down the garden's earth with pride. It was now freshly tilled and free of weeds. It felt good to be able to complete something. A voice startled him out of his musings, "Hello Harry."

Harry yanked his head around, scared for a moment that someone had successfully snuck up on him. When he saw that it was Remus, he relaxed. "Please do not tell Moody that you snuck up on me." Harry asked in a pleading tone.

Remus chuckled as he looked over the remaining link to his best friends. Well, at least the son of some of his best friends. What he saw did little to warm his heart. "Harry you look absolutely awful. What have you been doing to yourself?"

Harry hung his head his head, seeing Professor Lupin caused his thoughts to come crashing back to reality. A reality which no longer consisted of his Godfather and had his two best friends seriously injured during the same battle. A battle he had lead all of them into. It was a battle which could have been avoided. His heart ached both for his loss and the loss that he had inflicted on the man standing before him. "I'm sorry, Professor, about Sirius. I know I should have apologized before this."

The quiet apology shook Remus to his core. Harry had a sad defeated look about him. Not that it was surprising, especially after what Bill and the other guards had reported. Still, it was devastating to see in person. He remembered the strong boy who was eager to defend himself from the dementors at the age of thirteen and who had produced a corporeal Patronus during that time. When Remus recalled the events that lead to that summoning of a corporeal Patronus, he reflected on the events of that night.

This boy was able to show such strength of character and courage that he was able to divert two grown men from committing a horrible crime. Remus knew few adults who would have had the moral fiber to act as strong as Harry had. To see the depth of Harry's despair tore at Remus' heart. Although Remus himself was having a hard time dealing with Sirius' death, he knew he owed it James, Lily, and Sirius to try and help Harry out in any way that he could. Even if it meant opening up and talking about feelings, which was definitely foreign ground for Remus.

With a long deep sigh, he looked down at Harry then over to the bench under a tree. "Harry, let's go over to the shade and sit." With Harry by his side Remus sat on the bench under the tree and looked around the yard with interest. Everything had its place, from the ruler strait rows of neatly planted flowers, to the immaculately trimmed shrubs and exactly one and one half inch cut lawn. Everything spoke of a rigid and fixed mind set. It turned what could have been a comfortable setting into a strange caricature of perfection, which seemed to be the sole pursuit of the residents. Well at least a sense of perfection that did not extend to Dudley.

"Harry, we need talk about some things. First, let me give you these." Remus reached into his pockets and enlarged several books. "Here are some books on Occulemency and a couple of good Advanced Defense books as well. I won't bother repeating the warning about under age magic, but remember I've no interest in hearing about any owls from the Use of Underage Magic Office, ok?" Harry gave the Professor a soft smile. "Harry, you know Occulemency isn't something that can be learned out of a book. I spoke to Albus about additional training. He's a busy man, but after the issues with Professor Snape last year, he is be willing to work with you over the summer. I'll help set up a schedule with you later if you wish."

With a squint up through the leaves of the tree to the hot summer sun, Harry tried to figure out how to put into words what he had decided. Harry knew this conversation was about to take a bad turn, however, he saw no way around it. "Professor, I don't think that I can learn under Professor Dumbledore."

It was Remus' turn to look up at the sun. He was surprised at the revelation, but the calm confident manner in which Harry spoke showed that he had put some thought into it. "Why, Harry?" he asked softly.

"I'm not sure how much Professor Dumbledore told you about the events of last year. Well after Siri…the Department of Mysteries, Dumbledore told me some things that I wish I'd known. I believe that he failed both Sirius and I greatly last year. Basically, I'm not sure I trust him anymore, certainly not well enough to have him poking around in my mind. I definitely had enough of that last year with Snape."

"Professor Snape, Harry." Remus corrected absent-mindedly, somewhat at a loss on how to handle this exactly. In fact, Remus was not sure he wanted to get into this particular discussion at the moment. Sirius had his own issues with Dumbledore, especially at the end. Curiously, he wondered if Sirius' and Harry's problems were somehow related. He would speak with Albus and see if he could determine why Harry felt so strongly about this issue. Remus could certainly tell by the tense set of Harry's shoulders and the tightening around his eyes that it was something he felt strongly about. "Ok Harry, I can't say that I agree with you, but we'll discuss it later. I do have some other things to cover first. The most important is that although you have exchanged some letters via owl already, we still feel owl post is not reliable. We don't want to deny you the opportunity to write your friends, so we're going to try to hand deliver letters for awhile. In fact I have some mail for you now. Feel free to look it over after we talk. I plan on spending a few hours in the neighborhood with Bill looking at the wards. I'll be happy to stop by and collect any replies you might have finished before I go. I know the situation is not perfect but we're trying, even mail every two to three days is better then none right?"

Harry smiled and nodded at this, at least he could tell the Order was making an attempt; it helped make him a little happy to see this and any happiness at the moment was bright indeed. "Thanks Professor Lupin. I wish I'd known that from the beginning, since I've already sent Hedwig on a mail run, but I understand the need to be safe." Harry hitched his shoulders up and addressed a topic which would probably not go over well. "Professor Lupin, as I mentioned in my letter to the Order, my Uncle doesn't want anyone to come to his door or onto his property anymore."

"I know Harry, before Bill and I do our walk through I was going to have a quick chat with your Aunt. We understand he wants some boundaries so we'll try and respect that. By the way Harry, I think I need to remind that I'm not your professor anymore, you know you can call me Remus, right?" Remus could see Harry flinch slightly and start to shake his head. "Ok, if not Remus, can we try Moony?"

Harry smiled and replied, "Sure, Moony."

Remus smiled and gazed at Harry for awhile. Again, he wished that he was not about to have this conversation. With a long shallow breath Remus started off, "Harry, I want to talk to you about Sirius' death."

Harry visibly flinched and shot a look of horror at Moony. "No. I don't want to talk about how I killed him." After saying that, Harry turned to study his feet, in their dirty tattered trainers.

"Look Harry, you don't honestly believe that you killed him, do you?" Remus was now talking to Harry's back. With long powerful strides Harry was rushing to the door of Number Four. "Harry, please listen to me for a moment."

Harry stopped and glanced back. He did not speak, but he did not continue fleeing either. "Look Harry," Remus continued his voice laced with pain, "I miss Sirius too, and I could never thank you enough for giving me the opportunity to embrace my friend again. The night your parents died, well a huge part of me died too because I lost all of my best friends. Your father and mother dead, Peter dead apparently by Sirius' hand, and Sirius locked away in Azkaban. I had lost virtually everything overnight. That night in the Shrieking Shack you showed the moral fiber to stop Sirius and me from killing Peter. By doing that you gave me back my best friend. Without your effort and stubbornness, I never would have found Sirius and learned the truth. Just ask yourself what you would give to have Sirius back. You gave me that. I'm sorry Sirius is gone, as are you. We both should be. I miss him so much and I'll always miss him, just like I miss your parents. Let's stop the unwarranted guilt; it'll keep you from becoming the person you can be." Remus finished his talk with a firm grip on Harry's shoulder.

Harry struggled to take in a deep shuddering breath. He did not want to break down and he knew he was close to doing it. "I hear you Moony. Please, I'm sorry I upset you." Harry took another deep breath to try and settle his rattled nerves. "Thanks for the talk, I'm trying to come to grips, honestly. I think eventually I will; it'll just take some time. If you don't mind, I'd like to talk when we have chances like this."

With a sad smile Remus agreed. He felt as if he had taken a huge step towards lifting the weight of Sirius' death for both Harry and him. It might not have been much, but hopefully they could build on this, for both of them. Shortly afterwards Remus went with Harry to Number Four. Harry went to his room to reply to Ginny's letter and Remus went to talk with Harry's Aunt.

XXXXXX

For the first time in several days Harry was able to finish his chores at a reasonable time. He decided to have a quick walk around the park to clear his head before dinner. It had been a long week for Harry since his talk with Professor Lupin, who had popped in every two to three days to drop off mail and pickup Harry's replies. To date, they had not readdressed Harry's continuing refusal to work on Occulemency with Dumbledore, but they had spared a few minutes at a time to talk and try to form the basis for a closer relationship. Harry truly looked up to Professor Lupin, or Moony, as he was now insisting Harry call him. Harry was determined not to let the last living link to his parents fade away without a closer relationship. He was able to get close to Sirius, but in hindsight, not as close as he would have liked. It just made it easier with Moony, since Harry already knew and was close to him.

Harry's extra study, even if he could not practice the magic, was making his life easier. Harry had actually found one of the books on Occulemency quite good in organizing his brain. It gave a few techniques on reading and thought processes that Harry found incredibly easy. Harry found that if he imagined his brain as a great library with information stored in books, he had an easier time recalling information, he just had to imagine pulling a book off the shelf, and there was the information. He started to expand on this idea to create a calming place by imagining himself on a tropical beach at sunset. He realized that he did not have to empty his brain per say for Occulemency to work; he just had to be able to keep it locked on a certain image.

Harry definitely knew he needed to work on his temper, and with his Uncle's increasing waspish nature, Harry was finding it harder and harder to maintain. Much to his amusement Harry was developing almost a sixth sense of danger from his Uncle and was working hard to make himself scarce when he could tell his Uncle was mad. Harry was not exactly sure when this happened, but he could almost sense the waves of anger radiating off of his Uncle. It was times like this where Harry turned to his calming place by focusing on the smell of the ocean in the soothing salt breeze, the gentle roar of the waves crashing onto the beach, and the lingering warm of the setting sun on his cheeks. It was not that Harry had ever been to a tropical beach, but he realized he had developed a very good imagination. Harry knew in times past he would have been inclined to pick a fight with his Uncle, but now he just had more important things to deal with.

When he settled down on the swing at the park he knew that dealing with his issues was a much harder thing then he bargained on. In the past Harry only had comfort from himself when he was feeling down. Since the Dursleys had made it clear that they had no interest in Harry's problems, he had learned to close up and deal with things all by himself. Last year had proved to Harry that internalizing problems only made himself and those closest to him miserable. He doubted he could ever be an open person who wore their emotions on their sleeves like the Weasley twins, but that also did not mean that he had to be a bitter lonely person. After all, look at Snape! Harry had two best friends he would never trade in, and he knew he could talk to them. He had learned they were wonderful friends that were quick to cover his back and help him out of his problems, but together they were not easy to talk to about problems. Hermione was always quick to pry deeper into everything. Harry just assumed she had some deep seated issues in wanting to know everything. Just look at her school work. Ron, well, Ron was a loyal and strong mate, a bloke you could count on, but he was definitely a little on the thick side. How else would you describe a guy who has been in love with his best friend for over two years and still have not managed to tell her yet? A great friend, but he would just as soon talk Quidditch than have a heart to heart. Not that he wouldn't listen, you just could not expect much from it.

Having a talk with Moony helped, but he was a hard guy to talk about emotions with too. After all, if Harry was a hard rock to crack emotionally, then he knew Moony was a boulder. Moony had more years of keeping to himself then Harry had been alive. Still he was trying and Harry was struggling to meet him half way.

Harry felt himself choke up as he reflected on what amounted to a fairly lonely emotional life. He knew he had many people that cared for him, but where was his father figure, or big brother? Sirius had started to take on both roles, but now Harry, through his own stupidity, had lost him. The Weasleys were fantastic, as always. Mrs. Weasley had given Harry one of the few hugs he had ever received in his life and certainly the closest to a motherly hug he could remember. Harry kicked hard at the ground and started to swing. He was starting to get depressed again, and he knew he needed to fight it. He could turn to his calming place, but frankly he wanted to see if he could learn to work through it. Turning to the calming place he knew just postponed the hurting; it did not help Harry deal with it.

"Wotcher Harry!"

Harry looked up to see Tonks dressed liked a Muggle with short, spiky, vivid red hair, faded jeans, a periwinkle blue jumper, and black trainers. "Going for the Weasley look today Tonks?" Harry responded with a grin. It was hard to be depressed around Tonks; she was just a fun person. "Pull up a swing, it's nice to see you."

Tonks pulled a face at Harry, but she still settled into the swing next to him. She pulled a few letters out of a pocket and handed them over to Harry. "Yeah I thought I would fit in over at the Burrow when I stopped by to pick up your mail."

Harry quickly flipped through the letters, seeing one from Mrs. Weasley who would be writing telling him to eat and take care of himself, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. When his eyes settled on the letter from Ginny, Harry subconsciously let a small smile crease his tired face. Harry had to admit somewhat grudgingly that Ginny's letters had been entertaining, filled with the everyday life at the Burrow. She wrote about the twins, who seemed bent on causing as much havoc as possible. Ron and Hermione who were both alternating between sulking after their usual fights, or floating hesitantly closer to a relationship that everyone saw coming, but they seemed to be blind to. Bill apparently was still helping Fluer practice her 'English' and Charlie was going to try and come visit at some point. He would laugh when she described her Dad's latest failed experiment with some Muggle item or other.

Harry inhaled softly, there seemed to be an almost heavenly scent coming from the letter. He even grabbed the letter and pulled it closer to his face to inhale the scent. It smelled of a warm summer evening, of jasmine, flowers and warm grass. Unbidden an image of Ginny popped into his brain, he realized in hindsight this was the fragrance he had connected to Ginny. He figured he must have been imagining things. Could he imagine smells just because Ginny made him feel good? Must be, he imagined, he was not sure how else a letter could smell, after all he never had one that smelled before.

When Tonks saw the smile on Harry's face, which looked so unusual for him, she glanced down at the letters to see what could have caused it. She recognized the hand writing from where she was sitting; after all she was talking with Ginny in her room while Ginny finished the letter up. Tonks gave into her own smirking smile when she saw Harry pull the letter to his face and take a strong inhale. _Yeah_ she thought, _the perfume on the letter always works_. She was surprised that Ginny had not learned that trick yet, so she was only to happy to drop that little secret. With the brilliant flash of a smile from Ginny, Tonks knew she had guessed right about how the youngest Weasley felt.

Personally, Tonks felt that she never knew a guy more in need of a good solid snog than Harry. In fact Tonks had toyed with the idea if going ahead and giving him a good long snog on one of his lonely walks. She knew it was not horribly professional, but he was quite cute with that messy hair and, wow, his eyes could melt even the most frigid of hearts. Tonks was available at the moment and as much as she might toy with the idea of having some fun with Harry, she knew she would never act on it. Even if you ignored all the other emotional baggage he had, he was just too young. Tonks realized that as fun as a good snog would be, and she even could admit she needed one herself after the Department of Mysteries, she knew that Harry was hurting and he needed someone around him to help him heal. Who knew the youngest Weasley could be the one? Maybe if Ginny helped Harry out and he became slightly more grounded and he finished Hogwarts…He was, after all, looking rather yummy with his tan and sweaty hair. _Oops, bad Tonks, come on now! _She knew she had to stay focused. Just so long as he did not make eye contact she knew her imagination would not be too tempted. _Why did he have to be so young? _"How are you doing Harry. I heard you had a long talk with Remus."

Harry glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. Just because he wanted to open up did not mean he was prepared to try and reach out to just anyone. "How'd you hear about that?" He asked with a slight chill in his voice.

Tonks laughed, "Who'd you think was the guard that day under the Invisibility Cloak?"

"I guess that would make sense. First Bill, now you. Do you all eavesdrop on me?" Harry's depression was turning into his usual anger.

Tonks gave him a long stare unabashedly; he might be cute, but darn if he was not moody sometimes. "Listen Harry, first off it does tend to get boring watching your little behind sometimes, even if it is cute. I know you don't want the attention, but guess what, you're getting it anyway. Thirdly, the people who stand guard over you sincerely care about you and your well being. It's not easy to stand guard. The hours are long and it gets boring. I'd actually planned on throwing water on you both, but when I heard the topic of conversation I backed off. Look Harry, this is a difficult situation for everyone, but that doesn't change the fact that we are all trying to do what's best." She stopped for a moment and continued in a small voice. "It's been hard for me too you know." Tonks did not mean for the last part to slip out, but he was gazing at her with those intense soulful green eyes. They were so clear one could see the pain and sorrow etched on his soul. They only served to reminder her of the loss of her favorite cousin. The only cousin in her family that even acknowledged she existed.

Harry knew he had gone too far before the angry words had even left his mouth. He quickly sought out his beach to seek a moment of serenity. He heard everything Tonks said and he knew it was all accurate. He was sorry before she finished and he was mortified by the time she was done. He had caused pain to Moony too in their talk. Why did he have to continually hurt the people who were close to him? He really needed to get control of his temper. Harry could sense the hurt washing over him from Tonks direction. She had lost someone important to her too. He hung his head and said softly to the sad witch beside him. "I'm sorry Tonks; honestly I was sorry as soon as I said it. I'm trying to work on my emotions, but it's hard. Please forgive me, I always seem to get selfish and sometimes I forget that I'm not the only person Sirius touched in life. He was a great man and a great cousin to you. Being the only cousin who would even spend time with you, even if you're younger, I'm sure that meant quite a lot."

Tonks, who had started to swing gently, heard Harry's words in shock. By the time he had finished, Tonks had fallen off the swing into the sand at Harry's feet. She glanced up into a sad but amused face in wonder. She did not even know where to begin; firstly, Harry had actually opened up to her. It may not have been earth shattering, but coming from him, he might as well have opened the vaults to the crown jewels. Secondly, she was rapidly forced to come to the conclusion that he seemed more mature then she allowed for. Well at least he was working on it. Then to top it all off, he seemed to know what she was thinking about Sirius. Trying to shake her shock off, she finally noticed that Harry was having a good laugh at her predicament. Figuring that the tension was broken, she might as well give some teasing back. After all there would be time to consider what he said later on tonight when she went on watch. "So Harry, I noticed the look on your face earlier with Ginny's letter. Do I have to look like this to get your attention?" With an odd look she grew her dark red hair out and lightened it until it was a brilliant golden red.

Her hair now looked like the last rays of sunshine cast gloriously into the night by a setting sun, a warm good bye to another day. Harry was not sure why he had suddenly compared Ginny's hair to a poetic sunset, but the description still fit after all. With a soft tinge of red teasing up his neck line and into his cheeks, Harry mumbled that he needed to get home soon. He promptly scowled at Tonks when she started to howl with laughter, he shoved his hands in his pockets and asked if she wanted to walk back with him.

Tonks figured she could only tease Harry so far, so she left it alone. After they had walked for a few moments in a friendly silence, she finally voiced something that was on her mind. "Look Harry, I'm not sure what's going on, if anything, with you and Ginny, but I want you to know if you ever need any advice, I'll be happy to help. That is all I wanted to say and now I'm going to drop the subject. You know where to find me if you need me."

Harry thought about that for a second. Talk about one beautiful girl with a beautiful woman? _Yeah that was going to be really easy_, but she did offer, so Harry had to respect that. "Thanks Tonks, I'll think about it, but trust me right now I've more important things to worry about than girls. Your offer means a lot, so thanks again."

Tonks stopped at Number Four with Harry and gave him a smile, "No problem, Harry, and you're welcome. By the way I have your night watch, so if you want to pass on replies to those letters, find me in the morning right after your Uncle leaves for work. I'm expected at the Burrow for breakfast, so don't be too late. I do not want to miss out on Molly's cooking."

They said goodbye and went their separate ways. Tonks turned towards Mrs. Figg's for a guard meeting, and Harry went into Privet Drive for another evening with the Dursleys.

_Authors Notes:_

_Just a few short notes about this story, it is a multi-chapter "novel" length story. Thanks for the betas of have worked with me on this story. Reviews and comments are welcome. Enjoy!_


	3. Chapter 2: Secrets Revealed

_Disclaimer:   
The characters and situations of Harry Potter depicted in this story are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended._

_No profit is being made off this story. It is for entertainment purposes only._

_WARNING!_

_This Chapter contains scenes of physical violence and abuse. If these subject matters offend you, please feel free to skip the end of this Chapter after the section break._

**Harry Potter and the Secrets of the Mind**

_Chapter 2_

Secrets Revealed 

"Urgh, I can't stand that prat of a brother of yours!" an irate Hermione exclaimed as she burst into Ginny's room. Hermione had been visiting almost daily since the Granger house had been connected via the Floo Network.

Ginny looked up from the letter she had been writing to glance at her friend. Hermione looked simply frazzled, with her bushy hair looking decidedly frumpy, and a frown creasing her pretty face. "So what'd he do now?" sighed Ginny.

"Well it may not come as a surprise to you, but Ron has the emotional depth of a teaspoon." Both of the girls had a chuckle about this, before Hermione continued, "Who are you writing to?"

"Harry."

Hermione, not soon to release her anger over Ron, turned to her next favorite target of ire, the Boy-Who-Lived. "Oh let me guess, he writes…'Hi Ginny, I'm fine'. Oh that boy, talk about someone with the emotional depth of a teaspoon. That git wouldn't know how to open up if he was being cut in half!"

Ginny's eyes flashed dangerously as she regarded her friend. She could definitely feel her anger start to rise. She, for one, was not about to kick Harry when he was already down, nor was she going to let anyone else. "Hermione, we're friends. If you're angry at my brother, please do vent. I will, however, ask you to leave Harry out of it."

Hermione noticed the tell-tale flush of pink along the ears and neck of the youngest Weasley. Having been best friends with Ron for over five years and befriending his younger sister for another four, she knew the danger signs of when a Weasley was about to lose their temper. In a valiant attempt to blunt the coming storm, Hermione blurted out the first thing she could think of, "Now, don't go Weasley on me!"

There was a moment of shocked silence before Ginny snorted into laughter, "Go Weasley?"

Hermione sighed in relief, since the storm seemed to have been averted, "Well, you know what I mean, all pink in the ears, the screaming and yelling, basically losing your temper. It seems to run in the family. When I noticed you getting angry, all I could think about was how similar you looked to Ron, and I decided I didn't want another fight with a second Weasley on the same day. I'm sorry, Ginny. I didn't want to upset you, I was only angry with your brother. Speaking of which, why were you defending Harry all of a sudden? We've certainly had our fair share of talks about him in the past and it seems to me that you weren't defending him when you called him a prat."

Ginny looked pensively in the mirror, avoiding Hermione's face. She had not intended to blurt something out in defending Harry, and Hermione, the clever witch that she was, caught on to it. That was one thing Ginny never understood, as smart and clever as Hermione was, she had failed to catch on to the subtle undercurrents of emotions that ran through both of her male best friends. It was easy enough to see the problem with Ron and her. Hermione cared so deeply for him, that she blinded herself to the love that Ron so obviously returned. Harry, well, Ginny thought bitterly, no one understands Harry like I do, he seems so open on the surface, but Ginny had finally figured out in her fourth year that there was so much more to him. Most people saw the mask that Harry wore and they could understand, even envy, the hurting and brooding hero. But the simple fact was that they never bothered to see what went on below the surface. Ginny spent most of her third and fourth years trying to decipher Harry before succeeding in the fourth. Frankly, Ginny thought, she did a pretty good job, and maybe it was time to talk it over with Hermione.

"Hermione, since you asked me the golden question, I've some things to share with you, but I need to insist that you never repeat this to anyone, not even Ron."

Hermione was surprised to see the serious look cross Ginny's beautiful features. At first, Hermione was shocked to see Ginny lose focus and seemingly stare at a spot on the wall after the comment she had made about defending Harry. When she noticed the stare turn serious before Ginny looked back at her, Hermione knew she had to hear what Ginny had to say. If Hermione had a flaw it was that she was intensely curious, and she was not beyond admitting it to herself. Now with Ginny seeming to know something more then Hermione, this only kicked her naturally high curiosity factor into overdrive. It went beyond just wanting to know, it bordered on having to know. "Ginny, I'd never share a confidence of yours, please know that."

Ginny's eyes seemed to cut through Hermione like a knife, before she eased back into her chair, took a deep breath and started to speak. "Hermione, you need to understand that I've never tried to put all the things I've learned about Harry into words. Please be patient as I try to get it all out. To be honest, I've never known how you could've been friends with Harry and Ron for so long, yet still never really understand what's going on in their heads and hearts. I'll leave Ron alone, you'll have to figure that out on your own, but I'll tell you about Harry. Partly because I'm not interested in hearing you complain about him all summer, but mostly because I don't think you really understand Harry. You only see the Harry every one else sees. You've never seen the real Harry, the parts he keeps hidden from everyone." Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Ginny just held up her hand shaking her head. "Don't be too hard on yourself, I'm not even sure if Harry even knows what I've learned."

Hermione crossed the room and sat down on Ginny's bed, never breaking eye contact with the girl who was sitting at her old desk in her small room. "What do you mean? I'm not sure what you're trying to say."

"Again, Hermione, I might struggle to get this all into words, so I'll try starting at the beginning. Everyone knows about my crush for Harry so I won't go over that again. There is something I need to point out, however. Harry was so gentlemanly about it. He never teased me, and he never made me feel uncomfortable. He knew about my crush, but treated me no different. It was clear over the years that he never returned the feeling, but Harry never looked down on me because of it. Actually when my infatuation was at its worst he was always friendly. There was this time when I put my elbow in the butter dish, but he just smiled and pretended not to notice. Although, this was not something I could understand or appreciate at the time." Ginny grinned at the memory, before continuing. "It took me 'til my third year before I started to realize it. You know I've never thanked Harry for saving my life. Just imagine how horrified I was when I was lying on the cold stone floor of the Chamber and I knew that Tom was using me as bait to lure Harry down there. All I could think about as I was dying was how stupid I was, and how I was going to get Harry killed. Then it dawned on me that I'd probably get expelled, I even blurted that out to him. Well, when he woke me up anyway. Even then he was so kind and thoughtful, and you weren't there, but when we made it to McGonagall's office, he even tried to protect me again from getting expelled! Just think he goes into the depths of Hogwarts, fights his way through a giant Basilisk, then Tom Riddle, and through it all, he still has the presence of mind to protect me from the teachers and getting expelled. Again, at the time I wasn't able to appreciate the effort he went through for me and I avoided him for most of that next year, but I still watched him, like I always did. Again, it was one of those things I didn't appreciate til my third year when I looked back and started to take stock about all that had happened with Harry and me. My problem was that in my first and second years I always wanted more from Harry then he could provide. It just took me a while to notice what I was doing. Are you following me so far?"

Hermione was quiet as she listened to Ginny. It was good to see her open up. Hermione remembered that year after the Chamber. It was not a good time in Ginny's life, and she still was somewhat private about her inner thoughts. Hermione remembered some of the long talks they had shared since the summer after Ginny's second year. Ginny was Hermione's only real girl friend, in fact aside from the messy dark haired boy trapped with his Aunt, all of Hermione's real close friends where here in this magical ramshackle house. She had always had a hard time opening up to people herself when she was younger, when other girls her age in the Muggle schools wanted to play with dolls (or talk about boys and gossip as they got older), Hermione wanted to talk about school and some of the books she had read. The fact that she knew all the answers in school endeared herself to her teachers and parents, but made getting close to kids her own age difficult. Ginny's tale of introspection seemed to force Hermione down a path of her own. Hermione never had anyone stick up for her before Harry and Ron, and while it could be bothersome at times, Hermione realized how lucky she was to be have become friends with them both, and so also became friends with Ginny. Just think, she giggled to herself, it all started with a crying spat in a bathroom complete with a Mountain Troll and the two boys who caused the crying to begin with. In fact it was one boy who had brought on the crying spree, how did he do it back then too? Has she cared for him longer then she even realized? It was not like she had not been called an insufferable know it all before…

While the seconds turned into minutes as Hermione reflected on her own past, Ginny took the time to collect her thoughts. She knew she jumped around somewhat in the beginning, and frankly, the past was not what she wanted to talk with Hermione about. It just helped to illustrate how she had come to the conclusions she had. She just needed to make sure she stayed on message.

With a soft smile Hermione finally made eye contact with Ginny, she shook herself from her thoughts, and replied, "I do understand Ginny, and yes I'm following you, in fact you're helping me too. It helps to take stock of the past at times, in fact just thinking about how much your brother and Harry mean to me helps keep my anger in check. I'm sorry again about taking things out on Harry, when I was frustrated at Ron."

"Good," Ginny responded. "I'm glad this helps you, it's helping me too. So, back to my story. It was really following the World Cup that I started to see Harry differently. I watched him and looked back on our history. It was only after I understood better that Harry had always been there for me, even more than I'd realized. I understood then that despite my horrendous crush, Harry never looked down on me, despite my mistakes and errors. Harry was always there to help me pick up the pieces. He stood by me for so long and was always accepting of me. Once I realized this, I started to want to know why. I'm curious by nature. You know how I used to break into the broom cupboard just to see what Quidditch was all about because my brothers talked about it constantly. So I started to try to figure out what made Harry, well Harry. I even conned the twins into helping me out. I picked their brains about every little detail they could remember about where Harry grew up and his relatives. I was able to talk to Ron about Harry so innocently he never realized that we were talking about Harry. I talked to Hagrid at school about Harry's life, the relatives he lived with, his parents."

"All in your third year?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, pretty much leading up to Christmas. Well, with Ron and the twins starting over the summer when I started to get better control over my infatuation. This was all the things that helped me put it in perspective, for exactly what it was, a silly school girl crush." Ginny paused and shot an evil smile at her friend. "You know what I mean, don't you Hermione?"

Instantly Hermione was defensive. Certainly Ginny was not going to refer to him, was she? "I've no idea what you're talking about." was all Hermione was able to squeak out.

"Sure you do, remember the guy who won Witch Weekly's Best Smile Award, twenty times strait or whatever."

"Actually it was only five, but I get your point. So that's why you told me after the Ball you'd gotten over Harry?"

"Now, Hermione, as you well know, I said given up, not gotten over."

"It amounts to the same thing you know." Hermione said to Ginny, knowing full well that they actually meant two different possibilities. After listening to Ginny, Hermione started to finally realize that the possibility she grasped at originally, might not be the possibility that Ginny meant.

Sadly, Ginny looked out the window and said softly, "Yes I gave up my crush, because I realized that Harry deserved more then that. Not the least of which because he'd always given me more then that, he treated me like a friend when he didn't have to. He cared for me enough to defend me and protect me, when he didn't have to. I gave up the crush because he silently was being a wonderful friend to me, and he didn't push that friendship in my face when I wanted more. I wanted to be a part of his life, and it finally dawned on me, Harry was _always_ there as a friend for me when I approached him or needed him. If I could talk to him as a friend, then I could be his friend. Going out with Michael, all the while doing more Harry research, allowed me to grow into Harry's friend which has been good for both of us."

Hermione had always loved a good mystery, even if she had to fight the urge to read the last page of a book to see the solution. She was starting to conclude that Ginny was far more mature then she realized, and that the second possibility was starting to look very valid. She just needed to confirm one more tiny little fact, then, she would know where Ginny stood. She just had to be sure to approach this obliquely so as to not make Ginny close up. "So why'd you continue your Harry research once you were Harry's friend?"

Ginny pulled her gaze from the window to glance at Hermione, before turning back to the summer scene beyond her walls. She knew where Hermione was going with this and instead of hiding she forced herself to be honest. "I wanted to understand Harry and to make an effort to really get to know him and his past. We've so many things in common. Since he isn't the easiest person to communicate with, I settled on talking to others about him. Talking with Sirius was a huge help, because he provided me with a bridge to Harry's parents. Even Professor Lupin helped."

Hermione could tell that Ginny was avoiding directly talking about the specific question Hermione wanted answered. She decided to play along. In fact, Hermione admitted to herself, she was sincerely interested in hearing Ginny out. After all Harry was her friend too. "So, what did you discover?"

Pain was evident on Ginny's face as she continued. This was harder then she thought it was going to be. "Harry . . . well . . . his life has been hard. His Aunt and Uncle took him in and gave him shelter. But really, that's it, only shelter. They certainly never gave him love or comfort. He used to be locked in his cupboard for days. Did you know that he lived in a cupboard until he got his first Hogwarts letter?"

Hermione was shocked. She had not heard this before, "Really?"

"Hagrid told me. There were even locks on the cupboard so they could lock him in. From what I understand my brother wouldn't have survived it. It was covered in spiders, apparently that's why Harry isn't afraid of them." Both girls shared a much needed tension breaking laugh at Ron's irrational panic at the mere thought of a spider. "It seems so terribly ironic that Harry went from having the most loving parents, and doting 'uncles' according to both Remus and Sirius, to defeating He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, parentless, 'uncle-less', and living with people who hated him in the space of twenty four hours."

At this point tears where starting to roll down Ginny's cheeks as she took a deep shuddering breath. "I just don't understand how they could treat a child so cruelly. They locked him in a cupboard and never had a decent word to say to him. They never called him 'Harry'. It was either 'Boy' or 'Freak'. All the while they doted on that fat slob of a son, rubbing it in Harry's face how much they loved Dudley. Do you know that Harry's first Christmas at Hogwarts was the first time he'd ever had a present to unwrap? Hagrid bought his first birthday gift ever, Hedwig. Don't be surprised. Ron didn't realize it at the time either, but later when he was talking to me about Harry I was able to put the pieces together. The twins told me the summer before my first year, when they broke Harry out of his house, he'd been locked in his room with bars on the window, and food passed through a cat flap on his door. You weren't around, but he was so skinny and so was Hedwig. She was locked in the room with Harry. Hedwig couldn't get out to hunt. She was awfully thin, but what little food Harry was given, he shared with her. That is the kind of person he is. He always puts everyone else's needs first. I think a part of that is probably due to him waiting hand and foot on his 'family', but also because he has such a great heart."

Hermione had joined in Ginny's tears as she listened. She knew some things, and suspected others, but at times people really needed to hear the facts spelled out in order to fully comprehend what has occurred. Hermione realized that there was more to her friend then she ever thought, in fact both of them, Ginny and Harry. She also realized that the story was only going to get worse, as if it was not already bad, she thought sadly.

Ginny collected herself, and moved over to sit on the bed with Hermione. Ginny thought with a slight inward sigh that she and Hermione would both need comfort soon. The girls sat next to each other on Ginny's green bedspread, lost in thought, before Ginny quietly picked up her story.

"Sirius is really the one who knew most of this. He was more desperate then I was for information on Harry's life. He loved Harry so much, and he just couldn't understand how Harry turned out so good after what he'd lived through. He used to go and spy on the Dursleys as Snuffles. He was over there quite often, hiding and watching. Sirius started to badger Remus into the spying as well. Remus was the one who talked to Mrs. Figg. She told Remus about when Harry was young and the Dursleys would leave Harry at home, or with her, whenever they went out to do something nice. I think she was also the one who figured out that Harry was abused physically in addition to the mental abuse he'd suffered."

Well, Hermione thought, it had just officially gotten worse.

"When Sirius heard about that, wow, he was ready to hex a certain family into next week. It took all of Remus' and Dumbledore's efforts to calm him down. Well, honestly, he never really did calm down, and when Remus caught him over at the Dursleys, Dumbledore imprisoned him in Grimmauld Place." Ginny took a deep breath and pulled Hermione into a hug; they both needed. "Remember, back at the end of TriWizard Tournament when Mum hugged Harry? She said the way he held on that she thought it was the first time he was ever hugged by a caring person. I don't think Harry has the faintest clue about having a family and receiving comfort. Honestly, where would he learn it? I loved Sirius, he was the closet thing to a father Harry ever had, but he was not the most communicative about feelings. Remus is almost worse then Harry sometimes about keeping things in. Where or, more properly, who has Harry ever had to teach him how to feel? Harry, thankfully, started to lose his temper quite often last year. I think we got tired of it at times, but at least he was expressing himself. Trust me if anyone ever needed to lash out it was Harry, just look at his childhood!"

Ginny broke the hug with Hermione and gave her a steady gaze. "You know I'm still irked at you for trying to get Harry to open up to you."

"Me?"

"Yes you!" Ginny smiled and gave her a playful swat on the arm. "I remember how you used to complain to me about how he was taking all his anger out on you and how he needed to open up and discuss his feelings. You seemed to just expect Harry to open up and talk about whatever was bothering him. I hope our talk has helped you learn about how Harry was raised.

"From what I've heard I suspect Harry was told, on more then one occasion, to keep quiet. He probably lived an out of sight, out of mind existence. Harry never learned to express himself. He had to keep everything inside. You grew up in a home with loving parents who doted on their only daughter. Harry never had that luxury. You shouldn't push him like you do because he doesn't know how to handle it. I'm really upset that you'd get angry with him about his anger last year when you should've been more accepting. You definitely shouldn't have been as pushy as you were since you caused a great deal of his anxiety anyway."

Hermione was shocked, although she reflected in hindsight she should not have been. Ginny was right on both accounts, and worse, Hermione reflected, she also should have seen it herself. Suddenly, Hermione understood that Ginny not only cared about Harry, she loved him! The realization hit Hermione so hard she blurted it out. "You love Harry!" It was both a question and a statement.

Ginny shook her head. It was amazing how Hermione's brain worked sometimes. "Yes Hermione. I love Harry. My crush became a love that I'm happy to have. You're still not forgiven for being rough with Harry last year."

Hermione shrugged. She knew when it was a lost cause, besides, Ginny was right. "Yeah, you're right about that. I'm shocked, I'd figured out you cared for him, but you love him unconditionally. The way you are happy to be his friend, the careful way you looked into his life to understand him, the way you're prepared to help him get back together with Cho despite your feelings, your acceptance of his flaws, and willingness to push him when needed, even if he's angry or hurt. You love Harry." She said the last part softly and in wonder.

Ginny giggled to herself, "Why do you seem so shocked by this?"

"It's just so beautiful Ginny! I never realized what was going on."

"Nobody was supposed to realize Hermione, least of all Harry. Besides, I think Harry is the most beautiful person I know, and trust me, he deserves to be loved, and I'm happy to love him, despite the pain it causes at times." Ginny smirked at her friend, "By the way, when are you going to be honest about your feelings?"

At first, Hermione was inclined to state her usual denials on the subject, but she realized that this conversation demanded more honesty than that. After all, Ginny had been very open and honest about her inner most thoughts and feelings. That did not mean that Hermione had to jump in with both feet into a discussion of her love life. "Ginny, after everything that you've said, do you believe Harry is capable of a loving relationship?" Good, she thought, something to distract Ginny from her course of action.

Ginny allowed her smirk to turn into open gloating, knowing the effect that she had on Hermione. Still, Hermione's question was valid, and she had already thought that over carefully. "Yes. Harry is capable of a loving relationship. I hope ultimately it'll be with me, but as I mentioned, I'd already discovered I need to change the way I lived and looked at him for it to work. Harry and I have a bond, I think from the Chamber, but it feels older than that. I sensed it that summer before my first year. I already know Harry cares for me as a friend. That's been shown over and over again. My plan is to continue to help Harry become more comfortable with himself. To help him grow and learn that he has people around him that care for him. To help Harry realize he's loved. Once Harry can get past the notion that people love him, I hope he'll start to love himself more. Then perhaps when I sense he's ready, I'll explain my feelings for him in a way even he'll understand. Well, then I guess we'll see."

Hermione was curious now, "What do you mean by explain your feelings for him?"

"Well", Ginny giggled, "I figured I'd take him to the astronomy tower to talk about his feelings as a test to see if he's comfortable enough with me to talk about himself. I also hope he'll talk about himself more positively. If all goes well from there, I actually planned to take a page out of Cho Hag's, ergh, Cho Chang's book and start snogging him senseless, since I doubt Harry'll ever be able to make a first move."

"Hag?"

Ginny shrugged, "Ok, so she's not my most favorite person, ok?"

"No that's fine", Hermione laughed, "I should've never told you about the mistletoe."

Ginny flashed Hermione a wicked little smile. "Well I do appreciate the tip; it gave me some good ideas. I had also thought of a broom closet to see if we could change some of his old memories, then I figured, that's best left for a second date. So come on Hermione, what about your feelings?"

Hermione knew she was not getting out of this one, "Yes, I care for your brother so much, and I have for years. But you already knew that."

"Yes, but when are you going to go to work on him?" Ginny was going to be persistent on this because she did not need her last remaining brother at Hogwarts to get in her way when she made a move on Harry. It's all part of the plan.

"I don't know, Ginny; do you think he cares for me?"

"Hermione…" A long suffering Ginny said softly. "Yes, he does, but you might need to help him out, and I'm not referring to snogging him senseless in the Astronomy tower. Give him some confidence and you'll be able to help him see the light. Besides, at least he knows you are a girl now, right?"

Hermione had to laugh at this; Ginny had a point.

"Heck, even from day one Harry realized I was a girl." Ginny continued, teasing her friend. Ginny had to make sure Hermione had enough confidence to make a move on her brother. Later on this week she would talk with Ron and make sure he had some confidence too, after all it could not hurt. With an inner sigh, Ginny reflected on the effort she took for her love. Still she knew he was worth it, she counted on it, that's what she was fighting for. Time to change the subject she thought, "So what'd Ron do earlier?"

As the girl's conversation turned to more mundane matters, they failed to notice the pair of Extendable Ears that slowly withdrew from the room.

XXXXX

Harry was tired and sore. He painfully eased himself into a chair and glanced over at Hedwig's cage. "Hi girl," Harry called to one of his first friends, "since we can't use owl post this summer would you like to go visit Ron and Ginny for awhile?" Hedwig gave him a wide eyed stare and a soft hoot in acknowledgement. Harry chuckled at the antics of his owl, before dragging himself painfully over to her cage for a scratch and pat on her head.

The sound of a car pulling into the drive at Number Four shook Harry from his thoughts. If Uncle Vernon was home, then Harry really needed to shower quickly before dinner. This thought chased Harry out of the smallest bedroom and into the shower. Little did Harry know that this action would cause more issues then sitting at the dinner table dirty would have caused.

Vernon stomped into the house angry. The fury that had been running near continuously below the surface since that hideous encounter with those freaks in the train station, was threatening to boil out. The news from work had been bleak, Vernon's sales had not been up to par since the incident with the pudding several years ago and now with the company suffering cash flow issues. Grunning's was looking to cut costs and reduce headcount. With his lack of sales production, Vernon was target number one for the pending staff reductions. Vernon called for Petunia as he dropped his bag and headed strait for the liquor cabinet. After a several quick snorts of brandy, Vernon felt better about facing his freakish nephew. As soon as it filtered into Vernon's brain that Petunia had not answered his call, he realized that something else must be wrong. Figuring that whatever the issue was definitely called for more booze, Vernon set off with bottle in hand towards the kitchen.

When Vernon neared the kitchen door he heard muffled sobs. Inside was Petunia sitting at the kitchen table crying over a letter. Petunia heard the kitchen door open and her long neck craned over to see her husband in the door. "Vernon," she wailed.

"What is it, dear?"

"Dinky Duddydums was expelled from Smeltings!"

"WHAT?" Vernon roared. This definitely demanded a drink, so Vernon took a healthy swill from bottle.

"That awful school of his wrote and said that he was not to be invited back. They say he is abusive towards the younger students, and there have been too many complaints of injuries that he caused by beating smaller kids. Smeltings said that since we've ignored their previous warnings and refused to deal with the problem then he was no longer welcome there."

The sound of the shower being turned off permeated into Vernon's increasing drunken state. He sat down to continue drinking and complaining with Petunia. Apparently this night was going to continue getting worse.

Upstairs Harry felt more refreshed as he stepped out of the shower. Noticing that the sky had darkened enough to let Hedwig out, Harry walked over and opened her cage. "Go, ahead and visit for awhile, say 'hi' for me, and fly safe girl."

It was only at this moment that Harry could hear Uncle Vernon bellowing downstairs. Harry would have been concerned, but he did all of his chores perfectly, so there was no reason for his uncle to be angry at him. Much to Harry's chagrin he heard the bellowing of his uncle start to move around downstairs. Harry's stomach started to settle deeper in his body as he realized his uncle was coming upstairs, and from the uneven footfalls and drunken shouting, it appeared his Uncle was quite intoxicated.

Despite the pending warning signs, Harry was surprised when the door to his room burst open. He figured there would be a confrontation with his uncle at the dinner table, but not in his room. "You, you, you freak! It's all your fault that everything is going wrong. You complained to your freak friends, told them lies about how we raised you. Now they're fanning out and trying to ruin my life, your Aunt's life and my son's life. You, well you say lies about me then I get in trouble. So maybe I should give you some real reasons to get me in trouble."

Vernon had crossed the short distance from the door to Harry and seized him roughly by the shirt. The smell of alcohol was so powerful that he felt his eyes begin to water. When a sharp flash of fear coursed through his veins, Harry looked quickly over at the desk where he had left his wand. Vernon caught what Harry was looking at, and it only served to infuriate him further. Vernon raised his meaty fist and slammed it forcefully into Harry's face. "No Uncle Vernon, I didn't do anything of the sort!" Harry could feel himself stagger from the blow as he tried to plead with his beefy and drunk Uncle.

Desperately, Harry tried to move around his uncle towards the desk and his wand. The proximity of his uncle and his great bulk impeded this action. Desperately as Harry tried to dodge past he tripped over Vernon's drunken stumbling feet and fell down to the floor. From the floor Harry called out in his mind for his wand. For a fleeting moment Harry felt a reassuring touch of warm wood in his hand before he felt his hand compress unnaturally from the weight of Vernon's foot smashing into the top of his hand. He could no longer feel his fingers through the torrent of pain, which surged up his arm from his hand. From across the room a clatter sounded, which he knew came from his wand. Dimly the thought registered in his mind that his uncle must have kicked it when he was forced to release it from his suddenly broken hand.

A startled gasp sounded from the doorway. The beating paused momentarily as Vernon looked over to see Petunia's shocked face in the doorway. "This is it Petunia! It's pay back time for all the evil things this freak has caused. I should've pounded the freakishness out of him earlier. But you know what they say, better late then never."

"Vernon, I don't think this is a good idea…"

"No! No Petunia! Remember it's his fault Dudley was thrown out of Smeltings. We need to teach him and all those freaks a lesson. Remember what they did to Dudley that summer with the tail?" He demanded of his wife in a drunken slur.

Harry blearily looked over at the door and his aunt. The silence hung for a moment before she turned and walked away. His uncle wasted little time in starting up again as several more fists collided with Harry's face, head and stomach. Vernon appeared to be working into a rant. As he bellowed, his fists fell in a sort of demented beat to coincide with his raving. Harry was already on the floor cowering into a ball from the massive blows being rained on his body when the door downstairs banged open announcing the arrival of Dudley.

"Dudders," Vernon called, "get up here and help me out with this problem now!"

The walls echoed with the foot falls of the elephant boy as he approached the smallest bedroom. Dudley was shocked when he looked in where Harry was curled up into a ball wheezing in pain. His father stood looking between Dudley and Harry, "Come here son, and give some pain back to your cousin for all that he made you suffer through." With that thought Vernon turned back to Harry and gave him a sharp kick to the side, where the sound of ribs breaking echoed through out the room. "Come on son, come in and play. Better then any computer game any old time."

With a shrug, Dudley waddled into the room where he grabbed Harry by the hair and dragged his head back and dealt a massive punch to Harry's nose. Harry could feel his nose shatter under the impact and through the sharp blinding pain that made his eyes water, he could feel the warm blood spray across his face. "Good one, son!" Vernon crowed behind his son. Dudley proceeded to quickly warm up to some Harry abuse. It had been awhile.

The next half hour passed slowly for Harry and when hey grew tired of their fun, he was left broken and bruised on the floor to his room. He bled from multiple points on his face and body. It almost seemed to him that he was lying in a warm pool of water. Only Harry knew that his face was not resting in water. He struggled once to sit up but he was defeated by his broken hand and a powerful wave of nausea. When he looked down Harry noticed his arm seemed to stick out at a bizarre angle and his shoulder did not look right either. His breath wheezed painfully from his chest where it seemed like something was repeatedly stabbing him with a knife.

Too sick and ill to move, Harry laid on the floor where he had been beaten, while he could hear his uncle and cousin celebrating downstairs. For once he thought, as he fell into a fitful doze, at least Dudley will not have to sneak out and steal some booze to get drunk tonight. Harry was disappointed in himself that his uncle had caught him unaware and administered the worst beating of his life. He silently raged at the humiliating assault and the fact that his 'uncle' had the gall to strike him. Secretly Harry knew there was a part of him that felt he deserved a beating, for all the death and mayhem he had caused the last couple of years. He knew that he could have fought harder. Shaking inwardly at that train of thought, he struggled to think about something else. Instead Harry focused his thoughts on Ginny and how great she had been so far this summer. He felt momentary consternation at the thought he would not finish her letter tonight, yet mostly he thought happy thoughts of her smile and laugh. Holding onto this feeble life-line of sanity Harry slipped into a fitful sleep, dreams of red hair and sparkling laughter ringing in his thoughts.

_Authors Notes:_

_I would like to thank my wonderful betas. Before everyone decides to start a game of hunt me down and string me up, this was a horrible chapter for me to write, well the last section, the first part was kind of fun.. I believe that unfortunately physical violence was a part of Harry's past. Abusers never really go away; they just look for a spark to come back. I do believe that Harry would do everything in his power to avoid confrontations with his Uncle and use magic to threaten in order to protect himself. If and when a violence situation occurred Harry would never be able to bring himself to actually cause pain or injury to his family. In this situation his drunken angry Uncle was on him too fast and he was not mentally prepared to face that situation enough to avoid it._


	4. Chapter 3: Reaching Out

_Disclaimer:   
The characters and situations of Harry Potter depicted in this story are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended._

_No profit is being made off this story. It is for entertainment purposes only._

_NOTE_

_This chapter starts the earlier the same evening showing what happened in the Burrow after Ginny and Hermione's talk._

_WARNING_

_There are some descriptions of injuries suffered. Please be aware of this._

**Harry Potter and the Secrets of the Mind**

_Chapter 3_

Reaching Out 

As Ginny walked upstairs, she reflected on what had been an interesting day. It had started off with a nice letter from Harry that Remus had dropped off, followed by a really long and emotional talk with Hermione.

Dinner at the Burrow that night had been a blast watching Hermione and Ron flirt in their own way. Well it had been a row, but when you could read between the lines to the emotions raging beneath the surface, it was actually kind of cute. Yes, cute, even if it was somewhat hard on the ears. She had had a good laugh with the twins afterwards while Hermione and Ron's row had made its way into the living room. The twins were merciless in teasing the rowing friends until Hermione finally left in disgust. Ginny had made sure to throw in a comment to Hermione when they walked back to the fire so she could Floo home. "So Hermione, I think you succeeded in getting Ron to notice you today."

Hermione acidly responded, "Your brother's a git, please don't start taking after him! Besides, you don't get it at all."

Ginny laughed as Hermione disappeared in a brilliant flash of green flame. The youngest Weasley figured that she had gotten it pretty accurate actually. She was soon joined in laughter by the twins who strolled into the kitchen after chasing Ronniekins upstairs.

"So, Gin-Gin, our dearest and most favorite sister, have an interesting day?" Fred queried with an odd gleam in his eye.

"Yes, do tell your favorite older brothers how your day went," George added with a hopeful smile.

Ginny gave her two older siblings a look of intense suspicion. She recognized the look in their eyes and the smiles on their faces. The twins were most definitely up to no good. It did not seem like they were after her, however, mischief and mayhem were definitely afoot. As Ginny rapidly considered her options, she finally figured it was safe to proceed with caution, at least until she knew what was going on. Besides, it was not like she was against a little mayhem in the name of good clean; well it did not have to be clean, fun was fun after all.

"Remember, I have pictures of what you did to that second floor bathroom last year. You know what mum said about toilet seats."

The twins both smirked at that in fond remembrance, "Fine piece of work that," Fred said.

"Not as good as the swamp," George agreed, "But about as far as we wanted to go with Dumbledore still around. Still, it was a good show." Then it dawned on George that Ginny was threatening them to make sure the fun was not about to land on her head. So with a helpful smile, George added, "Oh, what we've planned isn't for you dear sister."

Fred continued in the same vein, "Yes, we simply want to join forces to bring happiness and joy to other people's lives."

Ginny was still not completely convinced, but it was not without reason that most people said she resembled the twins the most out of her brothers. "Good, I'm in, so what's up?"

"Cheers!" George exclaimed.

"Well, dear sister, we wanted to know how your day went. Did you have fun today? Manage to avoid any chores? Annoy our dear brother? Have any interesting conversations with a certain bushy haired young lass? Who's name, we might add, our brother moans in his sleep." Fred noticed Ginny's guard go up at the last comment and pretending to misunderstand continued, "What Gin-Gin, we have it on good authority that Ronniekins moans Hermione's name in his sleep. In fact just the other evening we hid a fun little invention by his pillow just to pick up the sweet sounds of love. Which is how we heard the…shall we say…the depth of our brother's devotion to his brilliant friend. Well, we decided to sneak up and join in on the fun. Do you know that some people will sleep talk with you? Yes, you can ask questions and they'll answer. To bad our little brother suffers from that affliction. Quite fun, we must say. The recording of that little chat was most inspirational. We're currently figuring out how to play it over the announcement spell at Hogwarts during breakfast one day next year."

Ginny realized too late, once again, that it was never easy to deal with the twins. As was typical she was caught between wanting to strangle them for eavesdropping on her and Hermione, and wanting to laugh out loud at the knowledge of Ron's recording and their plans for it. "First, if I ever catch you listening in on a private conversation of mine again…"

"We know," George interrupted, "you'll go Weasley on us."

"Actually," Fred added, "that was quite a brilliant line from the smartest witch in her year. We decided to try and develop a new howler, a 'Go Weasley-ler' or something of the sort. Can you image the sound of Mum balling people out all over the country? We'll let you be one of the first to take advantage of it."

Ginny could no longer contain her laughter, "OK, OK, I'm on board. You heard what I said to Hermione, and from all appearances you heard it all, so?"

"Well, needless to say, we were surprised to see ol'miss bossy one herself stamping away from a row with Ron. Ok, we're not that surprised to see her stamping away from a row with Ron, it was more along the lines of actually seeing her here."

"Yeah," Fred continued the story from George, "when we arrived for lunch we didn't expect to find anyone at home, but then we saw Hermie running off to your room, well, what can we say, it was an opportunity to good to pass up."

"You know, dear brother, we probably _could_ have passed the opportunity up."

"Yes," Ginny whole heartedly agreed, "I think you could've left well enough alone."

Both twins looked at her as if she had grown wings, a tail, and started to spout out Gobbledegook. "Not for you, dear sister, we could have tormented Ron instead." George was careful to clarify.

"Anyway, you were about to get to the point." Ginny was starting to get annoyed, after all these prats did invade her privacy.

"Oh right," Fred at least was starting to realize they were treading on thin ice. "Listen, we never knew all that about Harry, and the truth is we really like him. If you must have someone in your life dear sister, we totally agree that Harry's perfect for you." They conveniently forgot to mention that since Harry was totally inept with women that they had little fear for her virtue.

"At least until he hurts you." George made sure to add the qualifier.

"Too right brother mine, he is OK at least until he hurts you. Needless to say, Harry's a good bloke, and you have our approval to chase him."

"Not that I need, or even want, your approval, but thanks anyway. However, what's so important that you felt compelled to not only tell me that you listen to one of my most intimate private moments with a friend, but also throw what you heard back into my face?" The fuse was lit and the twins had been warned, they were most definitely about the feel the heat of Ginny's temper.

Both twins understood the danger signs better then Hermione. They knew that they were about to get up close and personal with a Weasley temper, worse yet, a _female _Weasley and her temper. This was most definitely not a good situation to be in.

"Please Ginny, we really have something we need to say, can we just get it out first before you rip our heads off?" George's voice took on a decidedly pleading quality.

"Talk," was all Ginny could growl out.

"Ok sis, look, in short we love you very much, and we're completely comfortable with your choice in Harry. Fact of the matter is we want to help. Like we said, Harry means quite a lot to us, he was our teammate, benefactor to making our dreams come true, and the best second little brother we could ask for. Please, we just want you to know we're up for helping out. Frankly, we both thought that it would help to get little Ronniekins and his Hermione together. Or at least down that road first so your way would be easier." Fred somehow got all this out in a single breath, or at least that's what it seemed like as he stood there huffing and puffing like he had run a 100 meter dash.

George gave Fred an admiring look at what he accomplished. "Couldn't have said it better myself oh dear brother mine."

Ginny stood in abject silence. If Voldemort himself had strode in through the back door and said 'Sorry, didn't mean to be evil, please forgive me' she would not have been more surprised. Words escaped her at the moment so she did the only thing she could think of doing. She promptly launched herself at both of them with tears in her eyes and grabbed them both in bone crunching hugs that their mother would have been proud of.

The twins looked at each other with wetness (that they both conveniently ignored) in their eyes and beaming smiles. They knew they had done well and despite their teasing nature, they loved their family and their younger sister dearly.

"Do you really think of Harry that way…as a brother?" Ginny asked. When they both nodded, Ginny released them from her death grip after a moment and said quietly, "Thank you. I still owe you for the eavesdropping, but thank you both."

The twins shared yet another look and smiled; she was their sister, after all.

"OK," Ginny was suddenly all business, "This is what I was thinking."

After an hour of planning, the three of them went upstairs.

Later, after Ginny had cleaned her face and brushed her teeth, she settled herself in front of her mirror. As she slowly drew her brush through her hair, she reflected on how she would never forget this day. Yet, despite her tiredness, she felt out of sorts. As she gazed at her reflection she attempted to figure out what was bothering her. Ginny felt like she was in pain, but she didn't feel anything specific beyond that. Overall it was like she had an ache in her body. There was just a sort of tingling soreness in her limbs and most especially in her heart.

Concerned about why she felt so poorly when this was such a wonderful day, she slowly climbed into bed. She tried to relax, but for some reason her body could not get comfortable. The more she relaxed, the deeper the pain she felt in her body. She made herself as comfortable as she could before falling into a troubled sleep, not understanding why her thoughts turned to a messy haired boy, and why a knot of cold hard steel had settled in her stomach.

XXXXX

OUCH. That was the first conscious thought that Ginny had upon waking the next morning. From her toes to her throbbing head, she felt horrendous. If it hadn't been for the enticing smell of breakfast wafting upstairs, she would have stayed in bed. With a groan, Ginny hauled herself out of her bed and forced her feet down the crooked steps of the Burrow.

Ginny painfully opened the door to a kitchen that was empty, except for her mother, who promptly asked her to set the table for six.

"Six?" Ginny asked with a groan.

"Yes dear, six, Remus'll be coming over from Mrs. Figgs and Tonks'll be getting off her shift protecting Harry. Your father and Bill have already left for work." Noticing Ginny's hunched shoulders and decided lack of energy, Molly continued, "Aren't you feeling well, dear?"

As Ginny struggled to set the table, she heard her mum mention Harry's name through the fog permeating her brain. All of the foreboding feelings from last night came crashing back into her at that moment. She was not sure how she knew, but she knew that Harry was in pain. Her pain was Harry's pain. Harry needed help. Ignoring the question that was put to her, Ginny said instead "Mum, I think Harry needs help."

Molly threw her youngest child a confused look as she heaped food onto the table. "Rubbish dear, I'm sure Harry is fine."

With confidence that she was just starting to feel, Ginny stood her ground. "No, Mum, I've been hurting since last night when I started to feel like something was wrong with Harry. I really think he's in pain and needs our help."

"Eat your breakfast dear, you'll feel better after some food."

"Mum!"

With a stern look, Molly put her foot down, "You're welcome to ask Remus and Tonks when they arrive, but please sit down and eat."

Ginny was angry, but knew better then to argue. To placate her mum, she put some food on her plate, but despite her suddenly ravenous hunger, she could not get past the feeling that something was horribly wrong.

The smell of food was enough to entice Ron down to breakfast as he announced his presence in the kitchen with a bang. Literally a bang, as he threw open the door to the kitchen in his haste to get to the table (and the food). Silence reigned in the kitchen, aside from Ron's gluttonous eating. Both mother and daughter were not interested in talking to each other in their mutual anger, and both knew that one could not speak to Ron when he was involved in such a hunger induced feeding.

The twins did, however, break the silence when they arrived to grab some breakfast. When their mother inquired to their tardiness in getting to their shop, the twins simply replied that Lee was opening the shop today, and that they planned on scouting a location in Hogsmeade. With the kitchen once again in silence, Molly felt her own agitation building. In truth, she was starting to think maybe her daughter was on to something, since Remus and Tonks both should have made their appearance by now. Her fears were resolved when Remus and Tonks took that moment to stroll in through the back door. "Good morning, Molly, morning everyone."

"Good morning Remus, Tonks. Have a seat," Molly replied

"Good morning Professor, morning Tonks" the younger Weasleys replied, at least that was what everyone assumed Ron had said, since his mouth was so stuffed with food, speech seemed impossible beyond a crumb sprayed mumble.

For all of Ron's efforts, he was awarded a stern warning from his mother, "Don't talk with your mouth full, young man!" After giving him a good glare, Molly swung back to Tonks, "How was everything last night?" It was only after she asked did Molly notice Remus seemed pensive and tense.

As Remus slowly drank from his cup of tea, he tried to release his disappointment at not seeing Harry that morning. Their morning talks had become a source of comfort to Remus. He enjoyed the opportunity to speak with Harry and learn more about him. They had started to expand their shared grief about Sirius into a deeper friendship. Remus hoped to be able to take Harry shopping soon – after all, a sixteen year old needed his own clothes. A nagging, recurring thought racing through Remus Lupin's mind was his worry about where Harry was that morning. It was only when he noticed the silence and all the redheads facing him that he realized he must have missed something. "Oh, sorry, I was lost in my own thoughts."

"It's all right Remus, I was just wondering if everything was OK, because you were running late and seemed preoccupied," Molly stated.

"Oh, sorry about that, Molly, I was just waiting around for Harry. We usually talk every morning when I stop by to check the wards."

"Did you see Harry this morning? Was he okay?" Ginny saw her opportunity, and she jumped in with both feet. Nothing so far had changed her conviction something was wrong with Harry.

"Ginny," her mother warned.

"No, I haven't, Ginny, why do you ask?"

With a glance at her mum, Ginny plowed on, "I feel asleep last night thinking that something was wrong with Harry, and I haven't been able to shake that feeling at all since I woke up and I hurt all over but there is nothing wrong with me, I think it's related to Harry somehow."

"Nonsense Ginny, you're probably just coming down with something. Harry's fine…right Remus?" All of her children picked up on the note of panic in her tone. Once again, all eyes swung back to Remus for the second time that morning, although Ron continued eating.

Remus finally picked up on the tension in the room radiating off of both daughter and mother, the only reason he had missed it before was because he had been lost in thought himself. Ginny's words now caused Remus to fear that perhaps something had gone wrong with Harry. "I didn't see him this morning, and he hasn't missed a morning talk yet. Tonks did you notice anything last night?"

Tonks who had swapped her hair back to short and pink looked up in thought. "I heard that fat slob of a man bellowing about something but I was too far away because of the new restrictions to hear anything clearly. I thought nothing of it at the time. He's usually going on about something or other."

"You mean you heard screaming from that house but you did not even get close enough to check what was going on? Even after that incident with Bill?"

Tonks winced at the venom in Molly's voice as a pregnant silence settled on the kitchen. She looked around nervously as every eye in the kitchen was fixed on her. "I…I…didn't think anything of it Molly. I mean, like I said, he is usually yelling about something or other… You know what happened after Bill, they told us to stay away!"

Concern spread across Molly's features as she leapt from her chair and bustled into the living room. Every eye followed her path into the living room, but no one knew why she was headed there. Even Ron had stopped eating as a moment of silence descended on the kitchen. The silence was shattered with a scream, which was quickly followed by the reappearance of Molly Weasley into the kitchen. "Remus, Tonks, Harry's hurt! You've got to get back to that house!" These words set off the proverbial bomb, as the kitchen exploded into chaos.

Remus and Tonks fled out the back door of the house to Apparate to #4, followed closely by the twins. Fred and George had no intention of being left out of this, so they had conveniently decided not to ask if they could come too. Ron fell from his chair in shock and Ginny sank her head to the table, afraid of what would greet Professor Lupin and her brothers at Harry's Aunt's house.

Once Molly saw that action was taking place she turned to the fireplace and placed a Floo call to Dumbledore. When her head arrived in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, she saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk.

"Albus," she called urgently, "there's something wrong with Harry, my clock reads that he's been hurt, Remus, Tonks and the twins are on their way to Harry's aunt's house." Molly withdrew her head to wait assuming that the headmaster would Floo to her house first. Sure enough the fireplace flared emerald, and out stepped the form of Albus Dumbledore.

"Molly?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"When I heard about Harry being entered in the Triwizard Tournament I had added him to our clock. I later put a concealing spell cloaking it so only Arthur and I could see the hand. All summer it's been resting on 'Prison'." Molly's children watched as she wrung her hands anxiously in nervous thought. "I did not even look at the clock this morning since I had everyone at home with me last night. This morning, Ginny said that she could sense that something was wrong with Harry and when Remus came over for breakfast and mentioned that he didn't see Harry this morning, I finally decided to check the clock. That's when I saw his hand was on Mortal Peril. Remus and the twins have already left for #4."

At the conclusion of these words the back door to the Burrow banged open to reveal George shouting for her. "Mum! Come over quick, Harry's in a bad state and we're not sure if we can move him!" George then noticed Dumbledore, "Professor, you better come over too, it looks like Harry's uncle and cousin beat him to a pulp, Tonks is trying to keep Fred from doing something permanent to Harry's aunt and his cousin. We need some help, maybe Madam Pomfrey too, Harry looks really bad."

Dumbledore hurriedly followed Molly out the door so they could both Disapparate with George. A silence descended on the kitchen. Neither Ron nor Ginny moved at first. After a few quiet moments, Ron leaped to his feet and started to pace while screaming words that his mum would never let him say in her presence. Ginny banged her head on the table, while she raged at the world for hurting her Harry yet again. _What cosmic force out there decided that his life had to be so hard?_ At least this time she had someone to blame. While the angry tears started falling down her cheeks she struggled to control her fury and keep it focused on a task the quickly appeared before her. She would make Harry's horrid relatives pay for the evil they had done. Somehow, they would pay.

That was how Hermione found Ron and Ginny when she arrived at the Burrow minutes later.

XXXXX

When Molly and Dumbledore arrived at Privet Drive, pandemonium was the rule of the day. They arrived to a living room with Fred screaming at Petunia who was giving as good as she was getting demanding that everyone leave. Dudley was hiding behind his mother who was cowering in a corner. With a sick twist of her stomach, Molly noticed that his shirt was covered in blood and he didn't appear to be bleeding anywhere. Shortly after noticing this, she was grabbed by George and hauled upstairs to a room where there was a door covered in locks of all types. "All the locks were closed, we had to open them ourselves," George reported grimly.

When Molly stepped into the small bedroom she was prepared for a bad scene. Unfortunately, it was worse then she had expected. Remus was hovering over Harry afraid to even touch him. "Molly, I think he caught a fever last night, I didn't want to move him. He'll be alright, won't he?" She noticed the pleading sound in his voice.

She struggled to provide a measure of steady reassurance, but in truth, Harry's condition frightened her. She had moved quickly to Harry's side and gently turned him face up. His whole face was covered in blood and his right arm and leg stuck out at obscene angles no human body could produce naturally. She cast a couple of spells to cut his clothes off of him. To her horror it only got worse. Mrs. Weasley sobbed softly at the damage. This was far beyond her experience. With all her kids and the twins she had seen her fair share of injuries, accidental and self-inflicted, but this was so far beyond her that she simply could not comprehend it. It was clear Harry had made no real effort to defend himself and had instead curled into a fetal position lying on his left side with his right side exposed.

"George! Have someone get Madam Pomfrey. There isn't much I can do with him at the moment. Remus, levitate Harry up so I can clean the blood off of him, then place him in the bed." Both men moved quickly to follow her orders. Cleaning the blood off of a boy she considered another son, she noticed that his condition was just awful.

Albus interrupted her examination of Harry as he stuck his head in and asked for Harry's condition. "Molly, what's the situation?" She turned to address Albus and noticed that he was careful to avoid looking at either Harry or the blood stained carpet. She felt a surge of anger course through her before she replied.

"Albus, he's in a right bad state, there's too many injuries for me to deal with. Broken nose, a compound fracture of his forearm, a shattered knee, several broken ribs, probably a fractured skull since it doesn't feel right. His right hand is not right either, and that's just his broken bones. With the amount of damaged his side took, he probably has internal bleeding if not a punctured lung."

"Ah. Madam Pomfrey is on her way. She'll be able to assist you in stabilizing Harry's condition." With that, Dumbledore stepped out of the room.

In his place, George stuck his head inside the room. He had a furious glint in his eye as he watched Dumbledore withdraw down the hall and return to the kitchen where he had placed Petunia and Dudley, with Tonks on guard out front. "Mum, I think Dumbledore is going to leave Harry here! I heard him talking to that evil woman, asking what he'd need to do to keep Harry here till after his birthday."

Molly glanced at her son in shock for a moment before she saw Madam Pomfrey hustling into the room. She quickly ran down what she noticed and stepped back to let the nurse go about her business. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts, however, she did not believe in her heart that her son had heard correctly. "Never mind George, I'm sure you didn't hear correctly, or you simply misunderstood. I'm sure that Albus has no intention of leaving Harry here."

Without giving that ridiculous suggestion another thought she gazed with teary eyes on the bed and the broken young man laying there. From the door a tentative voice called softly, "Molly." She glanced over her shoulder to see a teary Tonks standing behind her staring at Harry.

Ever one to be quick to give physical comfort, Molly turned around and took a sobbing Tonks in hug. For a moment both could give into the tears they both so desperately wanted to release.

"Molly, I am so sorry. Dumbledore asked us all to stay away from the family and when I heard that bastard of a man just caring on I did not think anything of it. I could not even hear what he was saying. Oh Molly, how could I have let this happen!" Tonks let out with a shriek of despair.

Privately Molly tended to agree with Tonks, she should have checked it out and Molly knew that one of her boys would have check on Harry. It did not serve any purpose to berate her though, so instead Molly took a track of comfort. "It's okay Tonks. He is hurt and hurt badly, but Madam Pomfrey will get him back into shape, let's not worry about the past okay? He will heal fine once we can get him out of here this afternoon and over to the Burrow."

After her last comment, Molly was surprised to see Tonks pull away and cry even harder. _What is this all about?_ Before she could ask the question in her head, she heard the sound of a Muggle car screech into the driveway. She knew the situation was about to get worse.

_Author's Notes:_

_As always, thanks for reading and thanks for reviewing. A huge thank you goes out TeenDramaQueen for doing the beta-ing. It is a rough job, but she does an awesome job at it. I am sorry about the graphic nature of Harry's injuries and I am doubling sorry for put him through it._

_This is a bridge chapter; I wanted to give some more background into the events at the Burrow. In the next chapter we will continue to see the fallout from the day's events._

_I apologize for the delay in posting, on the good news, I have a new beta and we are through Chapter 10, so the updating should be on a regular schedule now. Thanks for reading and thanks to Kelleypen, my new and wonderful beta._


	5. Chapter 4: Difficult Decisions

_Disclaimer:   
The characters and situations of Harry Potter depicted in this story are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended._

_No profit is being made off this story. It is for entertainment purposes only._

**Harry Potter and the Secrets of the Mind**

_Chapter 4_

_Difficult Decisions_

Back at the Burrow, Ron and Ginny relayed that morning's events to Hermione. Together they watched their brilliant friend attempt to digest the news about their Harry.

She struggled to wrap her complex mind around a very simple problem. Harry's relatives beat him. Harry was abused.

Ginny eventually gave up on watching Hermione and began pacing restlessly. _Why hadn't they heard something by now?_

Ron, however, enjoyed staring at Hermione. After awhile he joined his sister in pacing, _must be_ _a Weasley thing_. The longer the pacing went the more worked up the two red heads got. It reached the point were they were both actively attempting to contain their tempers, but more importantly they tried to avoid taking their tempers out on each other. Unfortunately, they ended failing miserably.

With no other outlet for their frustrations, the youngest Weasleys lashed out each other and soon Ginny and Ron were engaged in a full blown row. After ten minutes of yelling Hermione finally decided to try and play peace maker between the two warring siblings. Her fruitless efforts did not stop the row and only served to draw her into the fight.

"Yeah Hermione, you should've _seen_ what Ron wrote to Harry."

"How do you know what I wrote to Harry?"

Ginny ignored Ron as she continued. "Well Hermione, you know how Harry missed the Farewell Feast last year?" Upon Hermione's nod, Ginny continued. "He missed it because he was looking for Nearly Headless Nick to ask him about Sirius becoming a ghost. So my clueless brother wrote Harry and said, 'Look mate, it's a good thing about Sirius not becoming a ghost. Really, if he'd turned into a ghost he would've been worse than Peeves!' Can you believe that?"

"Oh Ron, how could you?"

Ron looked defensive for a moment, _what was so wrong with that anyway? Its true Sirius would be a horrible ghost…even Harry thought so. _Since he was caught off guard by Ginny's attack he fell back to an old chess strategy that worked wonders in chess, when attacked, go on the offense. "Yeah well, what you should be asking is Ginny why a girl with a boyfriend is writing letters to another boy."

"WHAT?" This question was screamed by both young women.

"Yeah, Ginny, we all know about your crush, even Harry! I can't believe you're throwing yourself at him when you've already got a boyfriend!" Ron hissed angrily. He looked like he was going to continue, but whatever it was he had to say was interrupted by a resounding. . .

**SMACK!**

Ginny shook her stinging hand while her mouth opened and closed a couple of times. Finally she gave up trying to speak and turned to walk to the stairs. She had nearly made it to the stairs when tears of anger started to course down her cheeks.

"Stay away from my best mate!" Ron shouted triumphantly at the stairs and his sister's retreating back.

Ron watched with a sinking feeling as Ginny stopped and turned back around. Internally he recoiled at the furious glare on her face. _Ooops_.

"You…you…_you…_" She had trouble speaking and she could not get past the 'you' stage, but this time Ron saw he might have gone too far. To his relief, he saw Hermione jump up and stand between them.

"Ginny wait. You're both angry and I'm sure Ron didn't mean what he said."

Ginny's cold fury turned away from Ron and focused on Hermione. While she had been too furious to say anything to Ron, Ginny knew that Hermione had just made herself a tempting target. "Don't talk to me Hermione! How dare you defend him after some of the heartless things he says! You're no better! You know that you ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

"Excuse me?" She asked indignantly while shaking her hair out of her face and placing her hands on her hips.

"Oh, give me a break. You knew how Harry was raised. Yet you still felt compelled to make snide comments to him about his behavior last year. Of all the things you said to him last year, the worst had to be that 'whole saving people thing!'"

"What's so wrong with that? It's true anyway! I think the whole Sirius incident proved I was right."

Ginny's face paled dangerously. "Is it so important that you be right all the time? Think about what happened today and all the horrible things you've said to him up till now. Just…_think_ about it." She glanced dangerously at both of them. "Neither of you follow me to my room or speak to me anytime soon." With a flick of her red hair she stormed out of the room. Once she was on the stairs she succumbed to the tears she desperately needed to shed.

XXXXX

In the silence that resulted from Ginny's departure, Ron and Hermione looked at each other warily. They moved to separate chairs and sat pensively for awhile. After an hour of silent contemplation, their thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the back door of the Burrow.

At Privet Drive Madam Pomfrey was just applying the last poultice to Harry's ribs. "That should just about do it Molly. If you can just help me with wrapping his chest up, we should be done for the afternoon." Together they gently wrapped his ribs snuggly and settled him down into his narrow bed.

"I think I can handle it from here Molly. You should get back home and take care of your kids. Go on, shoo…say hi to Ron and Ginny for me and tell them that I don't want to see them in the Hospital Wing this year." While she had been speaking, Madam Pomfrey had quickly and efficiently hustled Molly Weasley out of the room.

Before she knew it, Molly stood outside in the hall staring at the closed door leading to the smallest bedroom at #4 Privet Drive. She allowed her eyes to follow the long line of locks that adorned the outside of the door. When she got to the bottom of the door she noticed a strange device. Turning to her son she asked a simple question, "George, what is that?"

Tonks answered her gentle question. "It's a cat flap Molly. Muggles use them on their outside doors to allow cats to go in and out."

"Why is it on Harry's door then?"

George answered this time. "Mum, remember when we borrowed Dad's car and rescued Harry? He was locked in here with bars on his windows. They pushed what little food they gave him through that thing."

"Are you saying that they had him locked in here and didn't let him out? Not even to eat?" After the injuries she had seen on Harry that day, she should not have been surprised. Yet, somehow, she was surprised. _How could he have lived like this?_

"Now you know why we borrowed Dad's car to rescue him." Fred added softly.

Molly was silent for a moment as she considered what she had just learned. "Boys, did I ever apologize for yelling at you about that?"

"No."

"Sorry then."

XXXXX

When Ron heard the back door open he rushed into the kitchen to see the tired and sad faces of Fred, George, and his mum. "What happened? How is he?"

Hermione announced her appearance with her own question, "Is he going to be all right?"

Before anyone who had been to Privet Drive was able to answer, Ginny arrived. She, however, did not have a question, only a simple request. "I want to see Harry." The only answer to her request was a sharp _CRACK_ of someone Apparating into the room.

Arthur Weasley looked around the room and felt the tension hanging in the air. Remus had told him the situation with Harry. When Remus told Arthur that Molly was leaving with Fred and George to go back to the Burrow, he decided to follow them home. "We'll all talk about this later. Harry is too sick and tired to see anyone, but for now he seems to be doing as well as can be expected. Let's all sit down at the table and get out of your mother's way."

Sullenly Ginny walked over and sat at the table. All her anger had vanished the moment she realized her mother had returned. Her anger had quickly been replaced with worry. Now as she sat at the worn old table in the kitchen, all the mood swings she had felt that day crashed down on her heavily, leaving her exhausted. She was only dimly aware of the forced conversation taking place around her. As she stared at the table and the scars that years past had left upon it, Ginny never noticed the intense study she was under.

XXXXX

After some quiet staring at Ginny, Hermione glanced down at her watch and announced that she had to leave. After she had left, any effort to force conversation faded out, leaving only silence punctuated by the sounds of Molly preparing dinner in the kitchen. While Molly worked, she kept a worried eye on her youngest daughter. The anxiety and exhaustion were clearly evident on her youngest. Her little girl was truly in a sorry state. Ginny's hair, which always seemed to have a life of its own, hung limp and listless. Her smile, which could light up a whole room, creased in a tense frown. Her lovely brown eyes, always so full of warmth and life, were dull and flat. That is if you could get past how bloodshot her eyes were from of all the crying she must have been doing in her room earlier.

Molly knew about her daughter's crush on Harry. Molly had some hope that by exchanging letters this summer, Harry and Ginny might be growing closer. It was a first for both of them. Molly knew that Ginny could use a fine young man in her life instead of that Corner boy. It pained her knowing that her little daughter was dating a boy. Even if it was innocent, as it always was at that age…Molly remembered being fourteen once herself.

Forgetting about her daughter for a moment, Molly turned her thoughts to Harry. _How could his relatives hit him?_ From the injuries she could tell Harry did little to try and defend himself. Well enough was enough! She was going to make sure that Harry came to the Burrow tonight. If Dumbledore would not allow Harry at the Burrow, then they would move to Headquarters. Molly and Sirius had many disagreements last year with how he was attempting to parent Harry. Molly did not object to Sirius wanting to take on a greater role for Harry, she had only objected to the way Sirius attempted to achieve this. She simply wanted Harry to have a chance to be a child. By extension, this would allow her own children their childhood. She knew they would follow Harry wherever he led, and she also knew she could not prevent them from following Harry. In hindsight she should have realized that hiding information from Harry would cause issues. The boy would go to the ends of the Earth to save someone. He would run even faster if it was someone he cared about. It was one of the things she loved about him. Harry was definitely a person of action.

She could tell that when she offered Harry comfort after the events of the Triwizard Tournament. His reaction made her believe that it was the first time he'd been held. How could a child grow up not knowing what love or simple human comfort was? Even better, how did that child grow up to be such a strong and caring young man? Well, he had lived a bit over a year with loving and devoted parents. That must have counted for something. She looked over at Arthur, and they locked eyes. Molly knew it was time to take a more proactive role in Harry's life. Both she and Arthur already looked at Harry as another son, and she was sure her own children looked at Harry as a member of their family. Perhaps it was time to extend her family to cover Harry as well. He needed love and support. It was that simple. While not sure of his role in the coming war, she knew it had to be important. Both Dumbledore and Voldemort's actions have already proved that Harry would have some role to play and apparently it was a major one. She needed to step up and be there for Harry. She knew Arthur would support her. Now they just needed to work on Albus.

Almost as though he was reading Molly's thoughts, Dumbledore's head appeared in the fire. "Good evening Arthur and Molly, could I prevail on you both to come to Headquarters? We need to discuss the day's events."

"Certainly, Albus", Molly replied, turning to her children she added, "Okay you lot, stay in doors and get some of your summer homework done." She knew that they would not work on their homework, but she still had to try anyway. She grabbed a pinch of Floo Powder and followed her husband to Grimmauld Place.

When she stepped into the kitchen, she noticed that Remus looked ready to kill. This instantly put Molly on guard. Molly turned her attention to the third occupant in the room and noticed that Tonks did not look pleased either. In fact she had grown out her hair to long flowing white and altered her facial features to mimic Dumbledore's, except for the large purple wart she added at the end of the far too long and crooked nose. At least now Molly could reasonably guess as to why the tension in the room was so high. "Headmaster?"

Before Dumbledore could speak the gathering was interrupted by the arrival of Professor Snape from the fireplace. He was garbed in his trademark black robes. Everyone in the kitchen knew however that these satin robes were far different then his usual choice in clothing. They also all knew why. "My apologies Headmaster, your portraits informed me of your presence here. I came over directly because I have some important information to share with you." Snape spoke softly in his oily voice.

"Thank you Severus. Please give me a moment to finish here. We can go back to the castle together. You are aware of what happened earlier today?"

The sneer on Snape's face deepened as he nodded. "Too bad I was not there to join in. The events appeared to offer some enjoyment." As he had hoped, that comment caused no small amount of consternation among the gathering.

As the kitchen exploded into angry retort after angry retort, Dumbledore leaned back into his chair. He was tired and this day made him feel even older than his hundred and fifty plus years. "Please calm yourselves."

As the snide comments died down, Molly spoke up. "How do you think that Ginny knew about Harry being hurt?"

Snape interrupted with a pointed look at Tonks. "How did the boy wonder's vaunted guards fail to step in and give him the protection he needs so many times?"

Tonks paled at the question and her eyes flashed in a mixture of anger and shame. Before she could respond, the Headmaster strode into the fray. "Severus and everyone, please let us set aside our differences for a moment. Molly, your question is interesting, but without having the opportunity to speak with Harry I do not know what to make of it. In all probability Miss Weasley was simply projecting her own pains into a concern for Harry, which in actuality had little to do with his condition." Dumbledore glanced around before continuing. "Arthur and Molly, as I was beginning to explain to Remus, I've negotiated with Harry's relatives and have successfully managed to get them to agree to continue allowing Harry to live in their home until at least his Birthday this summer and to accept him back next year until he obtains his majority as an adult on his Birthday."

Arthur interrupted at this point, "Albus! Surely you can't be serious."

Remus replied with a hollow angry voice, "No Arthur, he's serious and there's nothing I can do to change his mind."

"Albus!" Molly shrieked as she shook off her husband's cautioning hand. "How can you even contemplate keeping Harry in that situation? I saw the wounds on his body. He didn't even try to defend himself! Those people should be locked up in a prison. You know as well as I that in either world what they did is a criminal offense."

Arthur struggled to sooth Molly before he continued the fight. "Albus, I don't understand your thinking in this. Because of the events surrounding Harry throughout his life, it's clear that there is something important about him. How can he complete whatever task you've in store for him if he's injured or worse? We never would've known his condition if Ginny didn't have a feeling something was wrong with him. How can we continue to tempt fate since Harry is in an obviously dangerous place?"

"Harry is in the safest place he can be at this time."

Remus took his opportunity to interject. "He may be safe from Death Eaters, but how about the people who are supposed to raise him? You know Albus, Sirius told you last year how abused he was as a child and yet you continue to subject him to that place. His body may be safe, although that is questionable considering the condition I found him in this morning, but what about his head and his heart?"

"Exactly Albus, Arthur and I'd already decided that we'd take Harry and help him this summer. He needs to be around his friends and people that love him. We're even prepared to live the rest of the summer here if you don't think the Burrow is safe enough with the new wards." Molly added.

"I understand all of your concerns. Please understand this isn't a decision I'm reaching easily. However, Harry must remain with his relatives until his birthday. I had to talk very fast and work hard to keep his protection at Privet Drive." When Dumbledore noticed Molly and Remus about to object again, he simply held up his hand said, "This decision isn't open for negotiation. For reasons I'll not get into tonight, Harry must stay where he is. I'm sorry to take such a forceful line with you, but its imperative Harry remains until his Birthday, and then we'll work on a plan to remove him to another location."

Molly was ready to continue the fight until Arthur spoke with her softly. Remus was hanging his head in mute acceptance, but it was painfully obvious that he was not happy with the outcome. He would accept Dumbledore's words on this, like he had always trusted Dumbledore in the past. Tonks looked at Remus and leaned over and gave him some soft words of support. Dumbledore knew he did not have happy people around him, but at least they were willing to go along with his plan. Dumbledore continued. "Now then, since we're in agreement with the need for Harry to stay where he is," Dumbledore chose to ignore Molly's head shake at the moment, "We'll need to arrange for someone to spare Madam Pomfrey. I've been able to convince the Dursley's to temporary vacate the house for the week it'll take to nurse Harry back to full health. I was hoping Molly that we would be able to prevail upon you and your family to help."

"Of course Albus, we'll help out with tending Harry." Molly said, before she added, "We would've anyway."

"Splendid, I was able to convince the Ministry to attach Arabella Figg's house to the Floo network, so the youngest Weasley's will be able to visit Harry as well. I think seeing some of his friends might help his recovery as well."

"Albus," Molly interrupted, "George mentioned to me earlier that you were trying to find an accommodation with the Dursley's to allow Harry to stay. Can you tell me what it was?"

"It's true I had to speak very fast with the Dursley's for them to agree to allow Harry to stay. Eventually I had to agree to provide them with money to cover the expenses of them leaving the house on a last minute vacation and some, shall we say, extra money to ease their pain and suffering. Also we have new rules were none of us can even be on the same side of Privet Drive as #4."

"You've paid them off?" Arthur asked incredulously. "After all that they've done?"

"Yes." Dumbledore replied softly, "I had to pay off Harry's relatives for crimes that should have rightfully landed them all in prison. However, these are not normal times and some decisions are not easily made."

Molly jumped up with an angry shriek. "You reward people who beat him within an inch of his life? Albus! How could you do such a thing?" The room watched as she struggled to contain her famous temper. With obvious effort, she was able to control herself enough to continue. "I'll work to arrange a schedule to see to Harry's needs, but I can't begin to express to you how disappointed in you I am. I'm through here tonight. Please send over word later with what you need from us." With that Molly turned to the fireplace and Floo'ed home.

She stepped into the kitchen to see all her children (minus Charlie and Percy) looking at her in concern for her obvious distress. As Molly struggled to hold back tears, she heard her husband arrive behind her.

With a steady voice Arthur asked everyone to leave them alone in the kitchen since he knew his wife needed to vent. Arthur totally agreed with her. It was remarkable how galling Dumbledore's actions were. He was dangerously close to causing a serious rift in the Order. Arthur had always trusted in Dumbledore's actions before, but this move was very questionable.

With several curious stares the Weasley brood silently left the kitchen. Once outside, however, the mood evaporated from compliance to open questioning. Bill quickly cast a spell on the door so it could not be Imperturbed. With that action done he turned to the twins, "Well pull out those ears, I've no intention of missing this talk."

With a feral grin the twins pulled enough ears out of their pockets for everyone. They all settled in for a long wait.

An hour later, Ron pulled his Extendable Ear out and hurled it to the floor. "How could he? I've half a mind to go over and grab Harry right now! And to pay those bloody louts off! For beating him to a pulp!" The twins glanced at Ron with a small measure of respect, since his sentiments exactly measured their own. They were eager for action and had been since they had seen Harry that morning.

"Quiet! I hate the situation too, but let's allow Mum and Dad to handle this, trust me I don't think this will last for long." Bill had moved over and taken a sobbing Ginny in his arms. Bill was angry at the situation, but he controlled his anger since his little sister obviously needed help at the moment. Bill was not sure what was going on with his little sister and Harry, but he could tell she felt deeply for him. For his part, Bill could not be happier. Granted he would have to tease Harry for awhile and act the older brother, but Bill definitely liked Harry and Harry was about the only person he could think of that would be good enough for Ginny. Yeah, Harry was perfect all right, unless he hurt Ginny, then Harry better watch out.

With another glance at Ginny, he looked at his brothers. "Come on boys, clear out, we don't want to be caught here when Mum finishes her crying spat. Get upstairs and stay out of sight." Bill then turned his attention to Ginny, "Come on little red, let me carry you back to your room so you can lie down. Maybe we'll be able to get you over to visit Harry soon. What do you think?"

XXXXX

To the south in an affluent Muggle suburban of London a lonely teenager walked around her home. It was quiet and dark. Her parents had been in bed for sometime leaving her alone to wander in her big silent home. She still had not been able to forget Ginny's words from earlier. Her wanderings took her past the fireplace. Hanging above it, visible in the dim light leaking in from the windows, was a family portrait. It had been taken the summer after her eleventh birthday: The summer she found out she was a witch.

She gazed at the portrait, her proud parents standing over her with their hands on her shoulders. She was sitting prim and proper, smiling shyly. It was not a smile she recognized anymore. Not because her teeth no longer required braces; (Madam Pomfrey had fixed them in her fourth year) no, it was the shyness she didn't recognize. Hermione knew she was no longer smiled like that. Now her smile was beaming and happy.

She knew why her smile had changed. Before she went to Hogwarts Hermione had always been a lonely child. Brilliant and studious in school, her brains and effort separated her from the children in her class. The isolation she felt caused Hermione to close in on herself and hide within the shell of a …well…'bossy know it all' as she had been called some many times. Consequently, Hermione had no real friends. Things had not been any different at first when she had gotten to Hogwarts. Her driven attitude combined with the fact that she was Muggle born did not bring her anymore success in finding friendship there then it had in primary school back home.

It took an evening encounter with a troll in a girl's lavatory to bring Hermione out of her shell. For the first time she had friends. Real true friends that accepted her for what she was. They had driven her out of her shell and helped her lighten up.

Hermione broke her eye contact with the portrait and moved to the stairs. As she climbed the steps to her room she allowed her thoughts to crystallize on one of her best friends. Not the gangly red head that so often occupied her brain, but the raven haired one. She had known that his childhood had been hard. She always had known, or at least suspected, it was far worse than he had let on. It had not been a conversation she had ever really pursued with Harry. How could she, an only child with two adoring parents, even relate to him about that?

When she had been at the Burrow she had stared openly at Ginny thinking. _What had Ginny been trying to imply with that comment?_ That question had been in the forefront of Hermione's thoughts since Ginny had said it. While she had originally been inclined to hope that it was simply an angry retort, after careful consideration she had reluctantly dismissed that notion. Ginny had been too precise and calm, in an angry way to be sure, when the comment was made. So if Ginny had meant what she said… _but what did it all mean?_

By the time she had reached her room and laid down her bed, the tears had started falling uncontrollably. She grew up not wanting for anything, except maybe some friends. She knew that she was a rich person. Not rich in the terms of material wealth, even though her family had plenty of money, she knew she was rich in life.

Predictably, as in times past, her sobs had awoken her mum. Silently she felt the bed shift as her mum sat down and gathered her into a loving embrace. This only served to make her cry harder, because she finally understood Ginny's point. The loving comfort she was receiving from her mum was a comfort that was forever denied her raven haired friend.

As she cried on her mum's lap, her thoughts turned to her raven haired best friend. _Oh Harry…_

_XXXXX _

Later that evening Dumbledore was listening to his spy's report. "Headmaster, tonight's meeting was most interesting. The Dark Lord was very pleased. He said he had a great plan in the works, and although it was not proceeding quite as well as he hoped, it was almost guaranteed of success. I wasn't able to deduce the point of the plan since he seems to be holding it tight to the vest. But he's happy about something that occurred last night and into today. He also had me brew a mind inhibiting potion. I made the Draught of Openness; you are familiar with its effects, are you not?"

"Yes. It can be used to lower someone's Occlumency shields and makes a person's mind more open to external intrusion. Thank you Severus, I'll consider what you have reported tonight. I cannot say that I understand Voldemort's actions with the potion. Do you believe the potion is intended for you?"

"No Headmaster, for the potion to work its best, it needs to be a surprise to the one taking it. It is a difficult potion to prepare, but others, including the Dark Lord himself, could have brewed it easily. Although it would amuse the Dark Lord to skewer me with a potion of my own brewing, it does not make sense to tip his hand if it is intended for me."

"Splendid Severus, your report is interesting; I haven't seen any overt moves by him yet but I shall be on guard. Once again, thank you for the report. Why don't you try and get some sleep."

Snape bowed his head in acknowledgement of the dismissal. As he retreated towards the dungeons, Snape was concerned at how tired the Headmaster looked.

Albus Dumbledore sighed deeply as he gazed around his familiar office. His eyes settled on the table where his many instruments resided. Sadly he recalled that horrible evening when he had finally shared the truth with Harry. Most of these instruments had been broken in Harry's resulting rage. The physical damage had been repaired easily. Dumbledore was afraid that the emotional damage would take far longer to repair. Gently he picked up one particular instrument. He gazed down at the silver machine. Quietly he listened to the gentle clicking as it worked through its complex machinations. A soft light continued to issue gently from a singly point. The light was dim now as Harry was sleeping. Last night Albus noticed the silvery white light turn a dark crimson red. It was not the first time in Harry's life at his relatives that this instrument foretold the physical pain that Harry was obviously receiving. No, Dumbledore was not ignorant of the treatment Harry received.

Blood Charms. Albus Dumbledore had not been entirely honest with Harry when he discussed the nature of the charm used to protect him. Voldemort was not terribly familiar with Blood Charms since he had discovered at an early time that Blood Charms were terribly capricious. Voldemort with all his maniacal ways preferred predictable and stable magic. Even the Dark Rituals which have given him seemingly immortal life were predictable, provided you were willing to pay the price.

The nature of Blood Charms differed greatly from such orderly magic. When applied in a certain way, the nature of the Charm could be inordinately powerful. Take Harry's protection for example. The magic is so powerful that it can work without conscience thought or application. At the height of the Charm, it literally could prevent Voldemort from even touching him. It also worked with barely magical people, like Harry's Aunt Petunia. She nearly had enough magic that if she had been born to a pure blood family then she would have been considered a squib. Even without her ability to perform magic, she still had the same benefits of the Charm, its fine protection.

The Charm also protected Harry's ancestral home, in this case Privet Drive, from external scrying. This was important in preventing any of Voldemort's followers from finding the house. In some respects the effect was similar to the Fidelius Charm, if not quite as powerful. Obviously the Dursley's being a Muggle family and needing to exist in the Muggle world could not have a completely hidden home. The Charm also prevents witches and wizards with intent to harm the family from entering the home. Unless of course a person from the home invited them in, which is not very likely in this case. It is a good thing that no one outside of the Order and some select members of the Ministry even knew where Harry's home was.

Albus Dumbledore looked back down at the instrument in his hands. The first time Dumbledore had seen the light on this instrument turn red was an evening shortly after the night Neville Longbottom's parents, Frank and Alice, had been tortured insane by some of Voldemort's more fanatical followers. Albus had been shocked when he noticed the red light. It did not just show physical pain, but intentionally caused physical pain. Dumbledore had immediately fled to Privet Drive to only observe unseen Vernon Dursley cruelly smack baby Harry on the bottom repeatedly for crying. Albus' first thought had been, _how dare he?_ Fortunately, his reason re-inserted itself at the last moment. He could remove Harry, but by doing so, he would invalidate the Blood Charm.

That night, Disillusioned in the front yard of #4 Privet Drive, Albus Dumbledore debated with himself the wisdom in keeping Harry with his relatives. He had suspected even when he made the initial decision to leave Harry here that his childhood would be very difficult. Lily and Petunia certainly did not see 'eye to eye' about many things, not the least of which was magic. In fact Petunia and her new family went to great lengths to refuse to even accept that magic existed.

Eventually the unhappy events surrounding Neville Longbottom sealed Harry's fate. Dumbledore did not feel he could ensure either Harry's or his Aunt's protection if Harry was removed. Therein lay the real dilemma. The nature of Blood Charms allowed the blood of one to be used against the other. Dumbledore knew that Petunia would not allow Harry to stay for his protection. In fact, Dumbledore doubted she would take Harry in to even protect herself. If however, she was led to believe that keeping Harry would protect her whole family, including Dudley, then so much the better. Dumbledore knew that Petunia's life centered itself on her young baby Dudley. He was the apple of her eye.

Shaking himself from his remembrances of the past, Dumbledore recalled his conversation from that afternoon. Where Vernon had seemed inclined to keep Harry if the 'monetary figure' could be matched, Petunia needed more persuasion. Eventually it took Dumbledore to continue his little 'white lie' and remind Petunia that her Dudley's protection would be lost if Harry was removed from the home before his Birthday.

Thus this afternoon, Dumbledore's dual goals, protecting Harry and Petunia Dursley were met again. The cost was mounting, however, and Dumbledore feared that it might be getting too high to pay.

Dumbledore was shaken from his thoughts by one of his portraits calling to him. He glanced over his shoulder to Phineas Nigellus, "Yes Phineas?"

"The metamorphmagus and the werewolf raged about you for some time and then left the house to go out to Muggle London and drown their sorrows in great quantities of alcohol. I believe the metamorphmagus said something about a rave." Phineas reported. Phineas debated for a moment before continuing, "Your announcement did not go over very well, Albus, and you're treading dangerous ground within your organization. I must caution you that I believe you might be close to pushing them too far."

"I know Phineas, I know, but eventually I hope they'll come to understand my situation." Albus knew he was straining his relationship with the Weasleys and with Remus, but the success of the war was worth it.

Dumbledore walked over to the window that overlooked Hogwarts. Again he reconsidered his decision to house Harry with his aunt and uncle. He had guessed Harry would suffer, and he now knew Harry would continue to suffer. He had spoken with Madam Pomfrey. Harry's injuries were terrible, and this beating was far worse than any he had received before. Dumbledore also knew that as with most of his injuries, magical medicine would patch Harry up as good as new…physically. Why did his choice have to be so difficult? Subject Harry to abusive relatives who despise him and care little for Harry's own protection, only using him to protect their own child (however misguided this assumption was) or take him to a family like the Weasley's who would love and accept him, but make Harry and those close to him more vulnerable to attack. Dumbledore knew that Harry would not be able to handle the loss of a Weasley in his current condition. Truthfully the protection of the Weasley family and his friend Miss Granger caused the Headmaster no small amount of lost sleep. A deep loud sigh issued forth from his long white beard as he contemplated the difficult decisions he faced. If only the charm did not need to be recharged. If only the last blood relatives Harry had could at least accept him, if not love him. _If only Voldemort had not used Harry's blood in the Rebirthing Ritual._

However, as long as his location remained a secret from Voldemort, and Harry could call Privet Drive his home, then that is where he would stay. He had to remain until his birthday so that the blood magic would be renewed for yet another year. Dumbledore had failed to get Sirius to accept his reasoning for keeping Harry with his relatives last year, and in fact, Molly, Arthur, and Remus' arguments were much the same as the ones Sirius had used. Albus did not relish the thought of what would have happened had Sirius been alive today to have seen his beloved godson so beaten. At least Dumbledore had been able to salvage the situation with Harry's relatives, even if the solution was going to cause some consternation with the people in Harry's life.

Albus knew he was playing for higher stakes than everyone assumed. Yes, he did care for Harry, but he had learned in his previous wars, that love and caring could only go so far. The true test of success was victory. Albus had fallen into the trap of caring too much, and lost Sirius, very nearly losing Harry as well. Dumbledore could not face Voldemort and succeed. True, he had just fought Voldemort to a draw, but Dumbledore had been tiring quickly and if the Ministry had not shown up when they had, they would not have obtained the small victory achieved there.

Harry was the only hope for the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. It was too big a burden to place on such slight shoulders, but those were the facts. Harry needed to live for their world to live. The situation was not perfect, but that was the way things were. You had to play the game with the cards you were dealt. This was Dumbledore's hand and he intended to win. The cost of failure did not bear contemplating.

Dumbledore again sighed deeply. The time for Harry's confrontation with Voldemort was drawing closer far faster than Dumbledore wanted. He knew he was playing for large stakes with Harry's life.

These thoughts lead him to remember the night following Voldemort's return. Dumbledore remembered the triumphant feeling that had surged through his body when Harry explained Voldemort's Rebirthing Ritual. That triumphant feeling fled just as quickly when Dumbledore realized the implications. He turned away from his window and slowly moved towards one of his bookcases. He had known the night of Voldemort's return that he had been handed a mighty weapon indeed. He also knew that the danger to Harry had increased dramatically. It was at the moment Voldemort was reborn with Harry's blood that Dumbledore knew he desperately had to continue to protect another, in addition to Harry. Voldemort's actions had condemned Harry to more time with his relatives. Standing in front of a certain bookcase he looked around covertly before kneeling and reaching behind it into a hidden cubby. Dumbledore carefully removed the item contained therein and caressed the cover slowly. In his hands, Dumbledore knew he held the key to defeating Voldemort.

_Author's Notes:_

_As always, thanks for reading and thanks for reviewing. A huge thank you goes out to KelleyPen my new beta. She is awesome and has been a huge help getting this thing back on track._

_So I know some people will not be happy with Dumbledore and I know even more people will not be happy with yet another cliff hanger, don't they ever stop:-) The thing I can say about Dumbledore is I put the best arguments out there for his reasoning, in this situation specific situation. How about Molly apologizing to the twins? I really liked that moment, its one of my favorites in the story so far. Thanks again for reading! It helps to know that the effort put into the story is appreciated._


	6. Chapter 5: Relationships Change

_Disclaimer:   
The characters and situations of Harry Potter depicted in this story are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended._

_No profit is being made off this story. It is for entertainment purposes only._

**Harry Potter and the Secrets of the Mind**

_Chapter 5_

_Relationships Change_

"Ron, do you want to go practice Quidditch?" Asked Ginny a couple of days after the horrible day when the Weasleys discovered Harry after his assault by his 'family'. Although things were not exactly forgiven between them after their fight, she needed a distraction. She knew he would be up here sulking since it was a Sunday and Hermione's parents wanted her to spend the weekends with them. Granted Ron and she were both still upset about Harry; however, they happily heard last night that Harry was starting to come around and seemed to be more alert. Still their friend was away from them hurting, so doing something to keep their minds off hom until they could actually help him seemed worthwhile.

Ron glanced at his sister when he heard her question. She still looked depressed and he was still mad at her. Still, it would be nice to get out of the Burrow for awhile. He and Ginny used to be really close as the youngest of the Weasleys, and since there were not many young witches and wizards in their area they tended to play with each other more often than not as children. All of that changed when Ron left for Hogwarts; on the train he ran into Harry, and through the course of the year they befriended Hermione. Thinking about his friends only enhanced his dour mood; perhaps Quidditch would be good. "Sure Ginny, let's go."

As they both trooped out to the broom shed, Ron covertly studied his sister out of the corner of his eye. Anyone could see that Harry's injuries were upsetting her. He was not sure what was going on with his sister and his best friend. He knew that she had started to write him letters this summer. But didn't she say something about dating Dean on the train coming home? "So how's Dean?"

Ginny was well aware of Ron looking at her. She was not sure what he was thinking, but knowing Ron she would certainly hear his thoughts soon. She gave herself an inner smile when he asked about Dean. Ron always thought he was so subtle, but in truth he was quite obvious, asking about Dean when he really wanted to ask about Harry. How could Hermione never notice his attraction for her? Oh well, she decided to at least have some fun with him. "He's doing well. Did you want to know how good of a kisser he is, or did you just want to inquire about his health?"

She watched amused as he turned pink then red. "Ginny!" He shouted. "I don't want to hear that!" He then took off and ran the rest of the way to the shed. Ginny threw her head back and laughed deeply. _At least Ron was always good for a laugh._ She retrieved her broom and they began to move on towards their impromptu pitch.

_You know_, _what was good for the goose_… "So Ron…how's Hermione?" She had another laugh when Ron dropped his head and lengthened his stride leaving her trailing far behind. She needed some fun to get her mind off of Harry. At the orchard, she had caught up with Ron. With a brilliant smile, she leaned over and gave him a hug. She truly loved him at least for today she could forget she was mad at him. "Come on Ron, let's fly."

XXXXX

Molly busily straightened Harry's sheets for the fourth time that hour. Harry awakened off and on yesterday and by the evening he had been more lucid. She knew Remus and Dumbledore were waiting to hear from her if Harry would be able to talk about what had happened. She closed her eyes and bowed her head. Molly was still extremely unhappy about the situation. Molly knew in her head that she had to trust Dumbledore, but why was her heart screaming at her to take Harry away from all this?

"Mrs. Weasley?"

She looked down at Harry. He seemed confused about why she was there but at least his eyes were clear of fever. "Yes Harry, I'm here. Do you remember what happened a few days ago?"

A dark shadow descended over Harry's face as he remembered the beating his Uncle and cousin dealt him. Harry took a deep shuddering breath as Molly sat down on the edge of the bed. He could still feel the tightness of his still healing ribs on his right side. Yeah, he remembered that night. "Why am I still here and where are the Dursley's?"

"Well Harry, I need to contact Professor Dumbledore. I know he and Remus wanted to speak with you about that night and the near future."

Harry sagged back into his small and lumpy bed and looked away from Mrs. Weasley. He already knew what Dumbledore was going to say. Stay at Privet Drive and be a good little boy. "It's okay Mrs. Weasley. I think I can already guess what Dumbledore has to tell me."

Molly's heart clenched painfully when she heard the defeat in Harry's voice. "Professor Dumbledore Harry. And yes I suspect you do already know. I…" She looked at the sad young man in front of her and struggled to hold back the tears which were threatening to burst forth. "Oh Harry, I'm so sorry. Please understand if I had any say in this, I would have already moved you to the Burrow." She could no longer hold her tears and started to sob quietly, her heart broken to see Harry in this condition.

Molly cried for several minutes before she felt a hesitant hand on her shoulder. She turned back to look at Harry. "I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley. Please don't worry about me. I'll be okay. I'm sorry I made you cry. You and your family have been nothing but wonderful to me."

Molly cried harder for a moment as she grabbed Harry into a hug. He was truly a special young man. She struggled to get her tears under control. "Really Harry. Thank you. I was crying because of the frustration caused by you being stuck here. Please, I'll step out for a moment to summon Professor Dumbledore and pull myself back together. Is there anything I can get you while I'm up?"

Harry shook his head no and watched Mrs. Weasley leave the room. He felt awful that such a loving and happy woman was crying on his behalf. The Weasleys had been nothing but great to him and he seemed to always be causing them more trials. Now he had Mrs. Weasley here taking care of him when she should be home taking care of her own family. He did not deserve that type of care and devotion.

Around a quarter of an hour later, Mrs. Weasley returned. "Hello Harry, Dumbledore is going to stop by in about an hour with Remus. Shall I bring out the broth I made for you?"

"Thanks again Mrs. Weasley. I'm so sorry to be such a chore. It always seems like I'm being an inconvenience for you and your family."

Mrs. Weasley had a good laugh at this one, "Nonsense Harry, come on sit up and let me take a look at your wounds, then we can have some broth."

Mrs. Weasley in short order checked Harry's wounds and announced that his recovery was on track. She then sat and talked with Harry about the rest of the Weasley clan while Harry had his broth. After having talked about Mr. Weasley, and the fact that Percy was still avoiding the family, talk turned to Charlie. He seemed to be thriving on the dragon preserve, although it was very apparent that Mrs. Weasley wished he lived closer to home. At this point that Harry braved a question that had always been in the back of his mind to ask, but he'd never before gotten around to it. "Mrs. Weasley, why is that Charlie cannot Apparate home whenever he wants? We haven't really talked about Apparation at Hogwarts yet, but I guess there is a distance problem?"

Mrs. Weasley looked confused for a moment. She and all of her children grew up in a wizarding home, so some of the simple facts of wizard life were known from a young age. Harry had obviously not been exposed to his heritage so he would not know. Deep down, Mrs. Weasley felt another momentary pang of sadness for Harry. He really had been deprived as a child. "Well Harry, you're correct. Distance does affect Apparation. Most wizards and witches in the United Kingdom can move around the Isles with effort. For some even traveling a few miles is too hard. Some powerful wizards and witches can reach into the continent, mainly France and Belgium, but that is about as far as most can go without a high risk of splinching or a bad case of magical exhaustion."

"So how do wizards and witches travel to other countries then?"

"Well Harry, to be honest, I think most witches and wizards don't travel outside of their home countries. Nearly all muggle countries have a magical ministry counterpart, but travel for us is simply not as easy as it is for Muggles. For starters, to travel long distances your choices are either via port-key or broom--well any flying contraption--like a car would work I guess. Broom travel is tedious since you can only travel at night, so it makes it hard to carry luggage, and it can get rather cold. So really the only viable option is to port-key. You may not be aware of this, but port-keys are tightly regulated by the Ministry. It's an extremely complex spell, and technically it's illegal for anyone outside of those permitted by the Ministry to enchant. Furthermore, to make a port-key travel _very_ long distances again requires an extremely powerful witch or wizard. The way we traveled to Egypt was via a port-key setup by the Ministry, although there are travel groups who can enchant port-keys for a fee. Since you asked about Charlie, he typically travels on one of these agency port-keys. It is not a very cheap way to travel; I can assure you. Again it also takes time because he has to hop a couple of times around the continent before he makes it to London."

Harry allowed this to sink in as he chewed a piece of bread. Strangely enough it seems like Muggles actually had a more efficient way of travel than the wizarding world. "Thank you Mrs. Weasley. The broth was excellent and I really appreciated the lesson."

"Not a problem dear, so how've you been so far this summer?" Molly asked.

Harry answered her softy, "Fine."

Molly sighed to herself. She was afraid that after this latest horror that Harry would withdraw even further. "Really Harry, how have you been?"

Harry knew she was trying to help and he appreciated her for it. That did not make it easy to talk with her, but he knew she expected some answer. "I'm surviving Mrs. Weasley. It's been a huge help to talk with Remus every morning. I've also really enjoyed getting letters from Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. It makes me feel more in touch." After this comment Harry remembered his last thoughts on the night he was attacked. Ginny had written him a mock scathing letter mentioning how she would either tease him silly or turn the twins on him if he failed to write her back promptly. Harry had missed a mail call before and Ginny mercilessly teased him about it in her next post. He did not think it was that big of a deal, but Ginny did, so from that point Harry had felt compelled to promise to write her back promptly. _Oh no! That was the letter I was supposed to write that night._ Suddenly he was struck with a bout of nerves again about the letter he was supposed to have written…which was now late. Harry was honest enough with himself to acknowledge, that for some unknown reason, he was slightly intimidated by Ginny Weasley.

"Umm, Mrs. Weasley, Ginny's not too upset with me is she? I promised her I'd write her back right away and I meant to, but the…uh…whole thing with my Uncle happened…" Harry was trying not to look too nervous to Ginny's mum.

Molly gave Harry an appraising look. "I'll tell you what Harry, why don't you write her a quick letter. Then I'll run it home while you're talking with Professor Dumbledore and Remus."

Harry flashed her a quick smile. "I think that would probably help, because I'm a few days late. I don't want her to get cross with me. I mean I want to make sure she knows I'm okay. Uh, I mean Ron _and_ Ginny. You know. That they know I'm okay. Both of them, you know? Um, uh, I think my parchment and quill is on the desk over there, erm…" Desperately Harry tried to hide his flaming face. _He was not being too obvious was he?_

"Splendid Harry, now if I'm not mistaken you have about a quarter of an hour before Remus and Professor Dumbledore arrive." She passed him the parchment, quill and ink before retiring from the room to give him some privacy. Once outside she could not contain her chuckle as she headed downstairs.

_Dear Ginny,_

_I know I promised you a letter by now, but I'm sure you know that I've a really good excuse. I'd cheerfully describe to you my last few days, but I can't seem to recall them. By the way, did I mention I had a really good excuse for not writing? Your Mum has been great. I keep saying thank you, but will you please say thank you again for me tonight? Your family sharing your mum with me right now has meant a lot to me. I think I better wrap this up because I'm not sure when Professor Dumbledore is arriving with Remus and I want to make sure this is completed so your mum can take this back to the Burrow for you. See, I may have missed a few days, but I did write at my first chance. Besides, I've already mentioned to you that I had a really good excuse, right? I just want to make sure because I'm not looking forward to a visit by the twins. Even more to the point is that I don't want to be on your bad side._

_Harry_

It seemed like only a few minutes later Mrs. Weasley had returned to claim the letter and show in Professor Dumbledore and Remus. "Rest easy Harry and try not to get too upset. I'll be back in a few of hours with more substantial food for you." Molly turned to the two older wizards and repeated her warning from outside again for Harry's benefit. "Remember gentlemen, Harry doesn't need to get upset and destroy some of the good healing he's done these last couple of days."

As Molly stepped out of the room, Remus replied, after a meaningful look at Dumbledore, "Don't worry Molly I'll make sure that Harry does not suffer." Molly nodded and left for the Burrow. She had decided that two people close to her could use something of a surprise, and she wanted to arrange it.

Harry fixed his gaze solidly on Dumbledore from the moment he had walked in. He thought of confronting the headmaster regarding the decision to keep him at Privet Drive, but instead he decided to force Dumbledore to bring it up. So Harry waited.

Remus was in no hurry to bring up the reason for their visit either. He could tell that Dumbledore was not comfortable with the talk he had to have with Harry. If Dumbledore had had his way, the Headmaster would not even be here right now, instead it would be Remus. But on this case Remus had been adamant. He was not prepared to defend Dumbledore's decision to Harry since he himself did not understand the reasoning. Remus might have been prepared to accept the reason and trust Dumbledore, but he certainly did not understand it.

Dumbledore glanced around the room before his gaze fell on his desk and the open Occlumency book and journal where Harry recorded his spell knowledge and thoughts on spells. He turned to Harry and gestured towards the journal. "May I look through your journal Harry?"

Dumbledore acknowledged Harry's nod of approval, and moved over to the journal and started to flip through it. He noticed where Harry had made notes on all the spells he could remember through his first five years of magical instruction. He noticed the next section where Harry had gone through all his old spell books to research possible spells that would be useful in the future. By the time Dumbledore reached the third section, he was impressed with the amount of effort Harry had put into his work over the summer. He was definitely impressed with Harry's extended notes regarding possible spells to research, his efforts with Occlumency and where to go from there, and also his thoughts on possible spell creation ideas. After looking at the fruits of Harry's labors so far, he was impressed at how Harry seemed to be accepting of his future fate with Voldemort. Dumbledore was sure that the remaining month of Harry's stay with his relatives would be put to good use, if the first part of his summer holiday was any indication. With these thoughts, Dumbledore passed the journal to Remus so he could also check up on Harry's work.

Dumbledore turned back to Harry and began his talk. "Harry, first off let me please say that I'm sorry this has occurred to you. I know that this home is not a happy place, but I'm sure that if you recall from our talk at the end of term, you understand that this place needs to be your home until at least your Birthday. You do remember our talk?"

Harry nodded in reply, but did not speak.

"Yes, well then Harry, I'm afraid that although you were injured at the hands of your uncle and cousin, this does not alter the blood magic which is bound to your aunt. Since I was able to persuade your aunt and uncle to accept you at their home until your birthday, I don't wish to invalidate the blood protection just yet. With all this in mind, I need to remind you of the need for you to continue living here until at least your birthday. Do you understand?"

Again, Harry only nodded in reply.

Dumbledore was slightly unnerved by Harry quiet acceptance. "Good then Harry, it seems like we're in agreement and you'll stay here."

"I didn't agree to it Professor." Harry interrupted Dumbledore, momentarily knocking the professor off his train of thought.

"Harry, I'm not sure if you understand me completely. As egregious as this situation is, I must insist that you remain in this home."

Harry sighed and looked away from Dumbledore. "Professor I had already guessed what you had in mind. I absolutely do not agree with you, but I also know that there is nothing I can do to change it. Because this is my lot in life, I have no choice but to live through it."

Dumbledore reflected on Harry's words for a moment. In some respects it reflected a more mature Harry than was in Dumbledore's office just those few weeks ago. In other respects Harry had just so artfully, _what was that Muggle expression…ah_ _yes_, 'cut to the chase' as it were and quite adroitly put him in his place. As if he needed any more reminding from Harry that yes, this old man continued to insist that he reside in an abusive home for some random blood protection never fully explained. _Yes, it would seem that our relationship as deteriorated even further._ Dumbledore knew he would need to fix their relationship as soon as possible. It truly pained him to see Harry hurt and defeated.

"Harry, I also wanted to assure you that you will never feel the touch of your Uncle or cousins hand in anger again. I explained to them quite clearly that I have placed a new Curse around you that they will regret greatly if they hit you again." Dumbledore waited in silence for a moment for Harry to look over at him before shooting him a crooked smile. "Yes, there is no curse as you are aware, so it might be wise to avoid confrontations with your Uncle and cousin anyway."

"Now Harry, I have not come solely being the bearer of bad news. I've arranged for your relatives to be gone until next Sunday. They've agreed to extend their vacation through the next weekend. You have that time to recover fully and when you are feeling well enough Molly has agreed to bring your friends over for some time to visit in person. Furthermore, I think it would be best if you avoid your relatives for the remainder of the summer. To this end, I have arranged with them that there would be no more chores and you only have to have breakfast and dinner with them. Lunch can be found at Mrs. Figg's instead. So your days are free and I suggest you continue the excellent work you have already started in your journal. With that in mind, would you like to arrange some Occlumency lessons with me after this week to further your study?"

Harry slowly turned his gaze away from Remus and his bowed head back to Dumbledore. Blue eyes met green eyes, slowly and distinctly Harry replied to Dumbledore's question. "No thank you Professor. I'll continue to study on my own. If you can find a qualified teacher who is not Professor Snape or yourself, then please put them in contact with Remus. He and I can then take the opportunity to arrange a schedule, sir."

Remus moved his eyes away from Harry's journal. He already knew most of what the journal contained. He had worked with Harry on it at some parts. It had also given Remus some ideas for books that Harry could read while he was stuck in bed. Again Harry had expressed his concern and lack of trust in Dumbledore. Remus could understand, especially in light of recent actions, why this divide might be growing for Harry. Although Remus understood the divide … it was not a good thing. He would address it with Harry tomorrow when his turn to watch over him came up.

Dumbledore looked hurt that Harry had refused his training request. Dumbledore was still convinced that Occlumency was something Harry desperately needed to learn. One more look at Harry and Dumbledore acknowledged that this was not a fight he would win this day. So like a master chessman, Dumbledore knew to back off and not press this matter and possibly sacrifice pieces needlessly.

With a curt nod, Dumbledore said his good byes to Harry and informed Remus he would be heading back to Hogwarts. Silence reigned for a moment in the smallest bedroom in

#4 Privet Drive. It was some time before either spoke.

"Harry, I just want you to know I'm not happy with this situation either. However, I have no choice but to accept and trust Dumbledore on this matter."

Harry gave his former professor a sad smile. "I know Moony. I don't really have a choice either."

Remus responded to Harry's smile with one of his own. He then replied, "You know Harry, I did acquire a few more books for you to read and it just so happens that I have them here." With that comment, Remus enlarged the books. "Let's talk about these for awhile, shall we?"

With that comment, Remus and Harry talked for some time before Harry fell into a nap almost mid sentence. Remus sat and smiled at Harry until he heard a soft step outside Harry's door. Remus still had quite a few errands to complete that day, so he bade both hello and good bye to Harry's next watcher.

As Harry gradually awoke from his nap, he smiled at the after images of his wonderful dream. Good dreams were rare for Harry, especially lately, so he wanted to prolong this one. He was flying with Ginny in the area around the Burrow. Her hair billowed out behind her in a shimmering wave of red. Her taunt creamy legs were wrapped securely around the broom, while her ample chest heaved as she laughed. Huh? Harry sat up so quickly in shock about the path his dream had taken. His glasses, which had been perched precariously on the tip of his nose, fell off. He could still hear Ginny's sparkling laughter echoing in his ears.

A noise to his left swung Harry's head around. He continued to fumble for his glasses while he looked that figure sitting dimly lit in the corner. He caught a glint or red, so he assumed Mrs. Weasley was back. While he felt his fingers close on his glasses, he said, "I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley. I must've fallen asleep on Remus."

As Harry was placing his glasses on his nose, a familiar teasing voice reached his ears. "Well Harry, I'm not a Mrs. yet. Although I would like to get married some day; I think I'm still a bit young for all that."

A tingle of thrill shot through Harry's veins as he heard Ginny's voice. Of course shortly a massive blush shortly followed it, in light of the dream Harry had just been having.

While Ginny had been sitting in silence staring at Harry while he napped, she had noticed that a rather large smile had crossed his face. After hearing from Ron and Hermione about all of Harry's nightmares last year, she was startled to see a smile on his face. She was suddenly curious about Harry's dream since he seemed to enjoy it. Her curiosity deepened as Harry's grin got larger and larger. Now seeing Harry blush such a fetching color of red made Ginny very curious as to what Harry was dreaming about. Could it have been about her? Still seeing a blush on Harry at all demanded some sort of comment. "You know Harry you're lucky the twins aren't around. They would be demanding to know how you could turn so red. They would want to know the secret so they could develop a new product."

Hearing Ginny tease him and then mention her brothers only deepened Harry's discomfort. Yeah, he was sure the twins would be thrilled to hear his secret was dreaming about their younger sister in a provocative way. What in the name of potions was going on with him he wondered? "So, um, hi Ginny. Where's your mum?"

Ginny was losing her fight to stop the giggles, and seeing Harry turn even deeper red at her comment, made her lose it completely. She cut lose with gales of helpless giggles, so much so, she missed Harry's awkward question.

Harry was chagrined at Ginny's giggles at first but he finally joined in as well. They both giggled and laughed for several minutes before Harry stopped abruptly grasping his side and wheezing. "Sorry Gin, my ribs are still somewhat sore. By the way, hello again. I hope you've accepted my good reasons for not writing back promptly."

Ginny accepted Harry shortening her name without any outward acknowledgement, but internally she was thinking, Gin? She was not sure what that was all about, but she would ask Hermione later if he did it again. "I'm well, Harry. You should be warned that I've given your pathetic plea for lenience a great deal of thought while I watched you snore. At this time I might be persuaded to let you off the hook, if you're a good boy and do something to entertain me. Do you know your bedroom is rather boring?"

Harry was so shocked to see her in his room here, in Privet Drive, that he was not sure at the moment what to say. He even felt a familiar swooping feeling in his stomach that he first felt on seeing Cho Chang. _There was no way he could feel that way about Ginny._ He must be having a funny reaction from the potions he had been taking. To try and cover the sudden uncomfortable silence he grasped at a topic that had brought endless amusement to the both of them in their letters. "So how's Ron doing with Hermione?"

Ginny skipped over Harry's moment of awkward silence to launch into several funny tales of their antics in the past week. They both had several good laughs and teasing comments about those two. Finally Harry asked, "So where's Ron anyway?"

Ginny, who had moved her chair closer to Harry during their conversation, teasingly asked, "So what, I'm not good enough for you?"

"Now Gin, come on, you know I wouldn't trade you in for Eloise Midgen, but still I'm curious as to why your brother isn't around."

_He did it again! _ Ginny's mind screamed at herself. She would definitely need to talk to Hermione about him calling her Gin. And what is that crack about not trading her in for Eloise Midgen? "Mum had him helping her out moving some stuff around in the cellar before dinner. I think he's going to bring dinner over for all three of us later before Bill comes to take over, and we head home." Come to think about it Ginny thought, why did Mum need Ron to handle that stuff. Did she arrange it so Ginny could be alone with Harry? After giving that thought a moment of analysis, she could see no way her Mum would send her alone to a boy's house unsupervised, even if that boy was Harry Potter…_would she?_

Shaking off those thoughts, Ginny and Harry continued to laugh and talk about school and Quidditch until Ron showed up later with dinner. The laughter and Quidditch talk only increased when Ron arrived, and the little party proved a good healing tool for all involved. It helped Ron and Ginny to see Harry in one piece. It definitely helped Harry to see and laugh with his friends. Still, Harry tired quickly and fell asleep before Ron and Ginny had even left #4 Privet Drive with Bill.

_Author's Notes:_

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for reviewing. A huge thank you goes out to KelleyPen my happy go lucky beta. It is no longer the twins rule, because now KelleyPen rules.

I had to put in some Harry/Ginny mini fluff in this chapter because, well I like a little H/G fluff in the morning. So, Chapter 6…will feature your first taste of the long awaited, Operation: Dursley's Will Pay and a visitor from the past…


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